The development came hours after Pooja thanked Chief Minister Yogi for avenging her husband’s death by the deaths of gangster Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf.
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday expelled MLA Pooja Pal from the party after she praised CM Yogi Adityanath in the Assembly. She had thanked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for “delivering justice” in her husband’s murder case and praised him for bringing in policies with zero tolerance against criminals.
What did Pooja Pal say?
Speaking in the Uttar Pradesh assembly during a 24-hour marathon discussion on ‘Vision Document 2047’ on Thursday morning, Pooja Pal, the wife of Former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal, said, “Everyone knows who murdered my husband (Raju). I want to thank the Chief Minister for bringing me justice and hearing me when nobody else did.”
She added, “The Chief Minister gave justice to many other women like me in Prayagraj by bringing in policies like zero tolerance that led to the killing of criminals like Atiq Ahmed. Today, the entire state looks at him with trust.”
Hours after her appreciation speech, the MLA was expelled from the party. In his statement in Hindi, Akhilesh Yadav said: “She (Pooja) is no longer permitted to participate in any party programs and will not be invited to them in the future.”
How Pooja responded?
“…Perhaps you could not hear the women in Prayagraj who were even more worried than me. But I am their voice, I have been elected as an MLA and sent to the Assembly. I am the voice of mothers and sisters who have lost their loved ones. They have sent me here. All people in Prayagraj who were disturbed due to Atiq Ahmed have been given justice by the CM, not just to Pooja Pal. I have been saying this from day 1, even when I was in the party. I have been expelled only today. I stand by my statement even today.”
“I became an MLA later but I am a victim woman first, a wife first…We could not stand the incident that occurred with us…They speak of PDA. I too belong to a backward community, I was troubled, I stepped out of my house because my husband was killed in broad day light, I was a newly-wed bride and there was nobody at my home…They have proven that they are completely against PDA.”
How was Raju Pal killed?
Former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal death which was a result of political rivalry with gangster Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf, whom Raju had defeated in the 2004 bypoll to the Prayagraj West seat. In February 2023, Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder case, was shot dead in Prayagraj’s Sulem Saray area.
Days later, Atiq and Ashraf – both of whom were arrested – were shot dead by three men when they were being taken for a medical check-up in Prayagraj.
