SP expels MLA Pooja Pal hours after she praised CM Adityanath for action against Atiq Ahmad
Lucknow, Aug 14 (PTI): The Samajwadi Party on Thursday expelled its MLA Pooja Pal for alleged anti-party activities, hours after she praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the assembly for "reducing gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad to dust", who was linked to the killing of her husband.
She has become the fourth MLA to be expelled by the Samajwadi Party (SP) since June for what it termed as "anti-party" activities by its lawmakers.
The MLA later said that the SP handed over the expulsion letter in the House for praising the chief minister.
Pooja Pal, who represents the Chail assembly constituency in Kaushambi district, is the wife of Raju Pal, a former BSP MLA from Prayagraj West who was shot dead just days after their wedding in January 2005 in an attack linked to gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad.
Ahmad, a former MP and multiple-time MLA from Allahabad West, was serving a life sentence when he and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three assailants while they were being escorted by police for a medical check-up in Prayagraj on April 15, 2023.
The killing took place in full view of the media and was broadcast live.
Pooja Pal, during a discussion on Vision 2047 in the UP Assembly on Thursday, thanked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for seeing her "hidden tears that no one noticed for years".
"My grief and pain were acknowledged and justice was delivered," she said. The MLA said there are many such bereaved families in Prayagraj who 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.
She then thanked the CM for "reducing mafia such as Atiq Ahmad to dust".
The SP, in a letter to Pal, accused her of indulging in activities against the interests of the party despite repeated warnings.
A copy of the letter, which was signed by SP president Akhilesh Yadav, was also marked to the speaker of the legislative assembly. The letter's copy also got leaked on social media.
The letter said Pal's actions amounted to "serious indiscipline" and that she was being removed from all party posts with immediate effect.
It also stated that Pal would no longer be allowed to attend any party programme or meeting, nor be invited to any such event.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said the expulsion showed the Samajwadi Party's "anti-women" character. UP minister Anil Rajbhar slammed the SP for "not letting a woman MLA from a backward community" speak in the House.
Speaking to reporters, Pal alleged that she was removed from the party for praising Adityanath inside the state assembly. "I was sitting in the House, I praised the chief minister in the House, and then in the House itself, I was handed the envelope (expulsion letter)."
Pal said, "It is clear that I was expelled for praising the CM."
Asked if she would join the BJP, Pal said, "I have had no such discussion with anyone."
She said politics was never a big priority for her and that she wanted to seek justice for her husband.
Pal said from the beginning of her political career in 2005 until Atiq Ahmad's death in 2023, she worked to ensure he never became an MLA or MP again.
She recalled thanking CM Adityanath on the day Ahmad was killed in April 2023, and said she wanted justice for her husband, for herself, and for the voters who had elected him, as well as for families whose members were allegedly killed at Ahmad's behest.
Praising Adityanath's approach, Pal said she understood his resolve the day he told the assembly that he would "reduce such criminals to dust."
"Only a man can speak like that," she remarked. "When encounters of criminals began, SP leaders suddenly started calling all encounters fake."
Taking direct aim at the SP leadership, Pal said, "You must decide and tell everyone whether you stand with a victim's family or with mafia figures who were killed in encounters, or with the people they victimised. First, speak about your double standards."
Deputy CM Pathak said the expulsion of Pooja Pal for "supporting the vision of developed India" in the House on the eve of Independence Day reflects the "ghatia soch (cheap mindset)" of the Samajwadi Party. "The entire House has unanimously accepted that the policy of the Samajwadi Party is anti-women."
Speaking to PTI Videos, UP Minister Anil Rajbhar hit out at the SP for not "allowing a woman MLA from the backward community to speak in the House. "Their act has unmasked the Samajwadi Party in the Assembly. She has praised the chief minister and everybody should listen to what she said in the Assembly".
In June, the SP expelled three other MLAs -- Abhay Singh (Gosainganj, Ayodhya), Rakesh Pratap Singh (Gauriganj, Amethi) and Manoj Kumar Pandey (Unchahar, Raebareli) -- accusing them of cross-voting in the 2024 Rajya Sabha polls to help the BJP and of working against the party's core values.
The reduction in the Samajwadi Party's numbers will not make any impact on the composition in the assembly, where the BJP and its allies have a comfortable majority, even as the next elections are due in 2027.
In the 403-member UP Assembly, the BJP holds 258 seats, followed by the SP with 107.
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Search operation ends in Anjaw truck accident, 20 bodies recovered
Itanagar (PTI): The multi-agency search and rescue operation in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh, where a mini-truck on which 21 people from Assam were travelling plunged into a deep gorge, has been officially called off by the district administration on Monday.
Till Sunday, 20 bodies were recovered and one survivor rescued following four days of intensive efforts by disaster response teams, Anjaw Deputy Commissioner Millo Kojin said.
The DC in an official order said that the search and rescue operation, which began on December 11, was formally concluded at 10 am on Monday after exhaustive combing of the accident site near Lailiang, about 40 km from Hayuliang sub-division.
Though earlier it was estimated that 22 labourers were in the ill-fated vehicle, but a communication from the senior superintendent of police of Assam's Tinsukia district on Sunday confirmed that there were only 21 people in the mini truck, including the driver, the DC said.
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The accident occurred on the night of December 8 along the Hayuliang–Chaglagam road when a mini truck carrying 21 labourers from Tinsukia district of Assam fell into a deep gorge. The incident came to light only on the evening of December 10 after one injured survivor managed to reach a nearby Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) labour camp and alerted authorities.
Following the report, a large-scale rescue operation was mounted involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Army, BRTF, local police and the district administration.
Despite extremely challenging terrain and weather conditions, rescue teams successfully retrieved 20 bodies from the gorge, while one labourer survived the mishap.
In a separate order, the district administration confirmed that the NDRF team completed its assigned task and has been released from duty with immediate effect, after all mortal remains were handed over to the district administration and subsequently to the relatives of the deceased following completion of legal formalities.
The deputy commissioner, who is also chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), placed on record appreciation for the professionalism, dedication and coordinated response of all agencies involved in the operation, carried out under extremely difficult conditions.
The district administration also expressed deep condolences to the bereaved families of the victims.
