No Fine For Trains With 300, Why For Bikes With 3: Akhilesh Yadav's Ally

Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar today said that if they come to power, people would be able to ride a motorbike with three people on board.

"A train carries 300 passengers on 70 seats & doesn't get challans. Why's there a challan if 3 people ride a bike," Mr Rajbhar told news agency ANI.

"When our government comes to power, three riders will be able to ride a bike for free," he added.

He claimed that if their government is unable to do so, they will levy a fine on jeeps and trains too.

#WATCH | A train carries 300 passengers on 70 seats & doesn't get challans... why's there a challan if 3 people ride a bike? When our govt comes to power, 3 riders will be able to ride a bike for free, otherwise, we'll put challan on jeeps/trains: SBSP founder & chief OP Rajbhar pic.twitter.com/GRdezXPv6C

— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2022

Mr Rajbhar's SBSP will be fighting the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The first phase of polling for the 403-seat UP Legislative Assembly will be held on February 10. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

The BJP had tied up with Mr Rajbhar's party in the lead-up to the 2017 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. The SBSP contested eight seats and won four. Mr Rajbhar was made a cabinet minister in the UP government. But just months down the line, the leader started accusing the Yogi Adityanath government of neglecting and sidelining his party.

He was dropped from the cabinet a day after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls concluded. During the Lok Sabha poll campaign, Mr Rajbhar had said that the BJP members should be "thrashed" with shoes.