UP Minister Rajbhar mocks Akhilesh Yadav over ‘secret’ meeting with CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka

New Delhi – On Friday, Uttar Pradesh’s own firebrand, minister Om Prakash Rajbhar, let loose a scathing swipe at Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav. The jibe, posted on X, played on the image of cockroaches scuttling onto a doorstep – a colourful, if pungent, metaphor for what Rajbhar called the “secret” meeting between Yadav and Ashutosh Ranka, the head of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP).

“Heard you’re trying to light a lamp in Abhijit Nakshatra, but the ‘cockroaches’ have already knocked on your door, mouths tied shut,” Rajbhar wrote, adding a string of rhetorical questions about Yadav’s loyalty to his own right‑wing allies. The post dripped with sarcasm, hinting that the Yadav family’s political ascent – from cycling through villages to the corridors of power – had now become a story of “street‑smart cockroaches” pulling the strings.

According to local reports, the meeting in Lucknow was anything but public; it was described as a “closed‑door” gathering, which sparked speculation and, apparently, the minister’s ire. Rajbhar’s longer tirade went on to accuse Yadav of riding on foreign money and “endless” resources, while reminding him of his own modest roots.

The Samajwadi Party was quick to fire back. Spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand told IANS that the CJP leaders had simply come to thank Akhilesh Yadav for his support during recent protests, including those at Jantar Mantar. “The SP has always stood with the youth from the streets to the Assembly,” Chand said, framing the meeting as a routine gesture rather than a covert pact.

Even the Congress weighed in, with spokesperson Surendra Rajput noting that meetings between political figures are not illegal and, in this case, “even better” for democratic dialogue. The comments, though measured, added another layer to the already‑charged narrative.

For now, the exchange lives on the social‑media feed, with Rajbhar’s metaphor of cockroaches lingering in the public imagination. Whether the spat will translate into any political fallout remains to be seen, but it certainly underscores the combustible nature of coalition‑building in India’s northern heartland.