Scam-tainted Kushwaha's brother, wife join SP

Wife and brother of tainted former BSP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha today joined the ruling Samajwadi Party along with their supporters, party sources said today.
"Shiv Kanya Kushwaha and Shiv Saran Kushwaha along with their supporters are joining SP expressing faith in the ideology of the party and its supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav," SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary announced while talking to the reporters here.
He claimed that their joining would increase the strength of the party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Initially, Mulayam was scheduled to address the press conference, but in a last minute change Chaudhary made the announcement.

On a question regarding joining of Babu Singh's kin in the SP against whom the party itself had opened a front, the spokesman said, "Don't they have right to work in the field of politics or the right to serve the people.".
Chaudhary said that SP has been working for social equality and it was part of its principle, adding that legal action was being taken against the former minister.

Kushwaha is an accused in National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Labour and Construction Cooperative Federation (LACCFED) scams during the party regime.
Currently, he is lodged in jail in connection with NRHM scam.

Meanwhile, BJP has flayed the SP over over the move, alleging that it is a party with "dual character".
"While on one hand FIRs are being lodged against Kushwaha, his wife and brother are being made member of ruling SP. Now SP must tell the people what message it wants to give and what deal has been struck," BJP's chief spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.
Congress spokesman Virendra Madan claimed that "SP and BSP were same on the corruption issue".