The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Thursday expelled its Chail MLA Pooja Pal for alleged anti-party activities, just hours after she publicly praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the state assembly for “reducing mafia like Atiq Ahmad to dust.”
In an official letter undersigned by SP president Akhilesh Yadav, the party accused Pal of working against its interests despite repeated warnings. The letter, also sent to the Speaker of the legislative assembly, stated that her actions amounted to “serious indiscipline” and announced her removal from all party posts with immediate effect. It further said she would not be allowed to attend or be invited to any party programme or meeting.
Sources in the SP confirmed the expulsion after a copy of the letter surfaced on social media.
Remarks in assembly spark political row
The decision came within hours of Pal’s remarks during the ongoing Monsoon session, where she thanked CM Adityanath for “ensuring justice” in the 2005 murder of her husband, former Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal, allegedly linked to gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad.
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“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 said, adding that “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.”
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak criticised the SP’s move, calling it an “anti-women approach.” He 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.”
Atiq Ahmad, a former MP and multiple-time MLA from Allahabad West, was serving a life sentence in a kidnapping case when he and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj on April 15, 2023, in full view of the media while under police escort.
