NEW DELHI: Expelled Samajwadi Party MLA Pooja Pal on Saturday claimed that she was removed from the party for publicly praising UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and calling Atiq Ahmed a “mafia,” alleging that her removal “boosted morale” of the gangster-turned politician’s supporters.Her remarks came a day after she wrote to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, expressing fear for her life from the party’s “criminal-minded functionaries.”Speaking to reporters Pal said the letter was written “after much thought and consideration.””When I spoke in the House, supporting CM Yogi and his policies, thanking him, and using the term ‘mafia’ for Atiq Ahmad, somewhere along the line, the decision was made to expel me from the party,” she told news agency ANI.”Ever since I was expelled from the party, the morale of Samajwadi Party members, especially Atiq Ahmad’s supporters, has significantly increased,” she said.”Derogatory remarks are being made about me. I have also received information that they (Atiq Ahmad) have gained significant strength because Pooja Pal has been removed from the Samajwadi Party, and they will now live as they please. In such a situation, after much deliberation, I decided to write this letter to Akhilesh Yadav,” she added. Pooja Pal, a three-time MLA widow of murdered BSP MLA Raju Pal, was expelled by the Samajwadi Party on August 14 for “breach of discipline.” In her letter, which she also posted on social media platform X, Pal directly accused the Samajwadi Party chief and warned that if anything happened to her, the responsibility would lie squarely with the party and its leader.”You have humiliated and left me in the lurch. This has emboldened the criminal-minded functionaries of SP. It is possible that I too may be murdered like my husband, if this happens, then I demand from the government & administration that the real culprit of my murder should be considered Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav”, the letter read.The former MLA, who represents Prayagraj’s political legacy of her late husband Raju Pal, said she had long endured humiliation within the party but her expulsion without a hearing was the “final act of injustice.”She accused the SP leadership of practicing caste favoritism while ignoring her sacrifices.”A widow from an extremely backward caste is punished for thanking the person who ensured justice for her husband. But when you or your wife vote for BJP candidates in the Constitution Club elections, it is justified,” she wrote in her letter.Pal recalled that she joined SP with the hope that Akhilesh Yadav would stand with her in her fight against powerful criminals. Instead, she said, she was abandoned.Pal further claimed her explanation would have helped SC, ST, and OBC communities decide whether Akhilesh Yadav is genuinely a protector of the backward classes, Dalits, and minorities (PDA).Her husband Raju Pal was gunned down in January 2005 in Prayagraj, allegedly at the behest of Atiq Ahmed. The case has remained one of the most politically sensitive in Uttar Pradesh. So far, the Samajwadi Party has not responded to Pooja Pal’s letter. Go to Source
