Film star Raza Murad on Friday quit the Samajwadi Party and joined the Congress, accusing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav of failing to address people's problems.
"I had joined Samajwadi Party three years ago at the invitation of Amar SinghÂ… I tried to communicate people's problems to the party leadership, but failed. I had no answers to the questions raised by them with regard to their difficulties," he said.
The recent "brutal assault" on lawyers by the Lucknow police was the turning point, he said.
"When the protectors of law are meted out such a brutal treatment, what will happen to common people," he asked.
However, he denied that the SP was in league with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Asked why he had joined the Congress, which was supporting the SP, Murad, who hails from Rampur, UP, said, "I am joining the party at the call of my conscience."