SP expels MLA Pooja Pal after she praises CM Adityanath on Atiq Ahmad case
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Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party on Thursday expelled MLA Pooja Pal for alleged anti-party activities, hours after she praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the assembly for “putting gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad to dust.”
In an official letter to Pal, undersigned by SP president Akhilesh Yadav and also marked to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the party accused her of indulging in actions against its interests despite repeated warnings. The copy of the letter was leaked on social media, with SP sources confirming her expulsion.
The letter stated that Pal’s conduct amounted to “serious indiscipline” and announced her removal from all party posts with immediate effect. It also barred her from attending any party programme or meeting, or being invited to any party event. Pal represents Chail in the Kaushambi district.
The expulsion came hours after Pal’s remarks during the ongoing monsoon session of the assembly. She thanked CM Adityanath for “ensuring justice” in the murder case of her husband, former Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal, who was gunned down in 2005 in Prayagraj in an attack linked to Atiq Ahmad.
Atiq Ahmad, a former MP and multiple-term MLA from Allahabad West, was serving a life sentence in a kidnapping case when he and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three assailants while being escorted by police for a medical check-up in Prayagraj on April 15, 2023. The incident was broadcast live.
During a discussion on the 'Vision 2047' document in the UP Assembly, Pal said, “I want to thank Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for seeing my hidden tears that no one noticed for years. My grief and pain were acknowledged and justice was delivered.”
She added that many bereaved families in Prayagraj have “received justice” under CM Adityanath. “Countless women have lost their husbands, countless mothers have lost their sons, and I thank the CM who brought in a zero-tolerance policy to wipe out criminals and mafias like Atiq Ahmad,” Pal said, further commending the CM for “reducing mafia like Atiq Ahmad to dust.”
With PTI inputs