Swami Prasad Maurya quits SP, to announce own party on Feb 22

Lucknow: A week after tendering his resignation from the post of Samajwadi Party national general secretary, Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday resigned from the party's primary membership and the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and announced formation of a new party.

Maurya resigned as the party's national general secretary on February 13, accusing the leadership of discriminating against him and not defending him over his controversial statements on the Ramcharitmanas and the Ayodhya temple consecration ceremony.

Maurya said that he will form a new party and announce it on Thursday in New Delhi.

"I got an opportunity to work with you. But after our talks on February 12 and my resignation (as national general secretary) on February 13, no initiative of any talks with me was taken due to which I am resigning from the primary membership of the party," Maurya said in a letter to party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

He also shared the letter on his social media accounts.

In a separate letter to the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, Maurya said, "I was elected as a Samajwadi Party member in the legislative council. As I have resigned from the primary membership of the party, I am also resigning as MLC (member of legislative council) on the basis of morality." He said, "Whenever someone tried to attack the ideology, I made no delay in leaving my posts. It has been decided that on February 22 I will announce the new party at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi and will take the opinion of the workers and make a future strategy." Asked whether he would join INDIA bloc or NDA, he made no direct reply, but said INDIA bloc is the need of the hour in the present scenario.

Maurya also questioned the distribution of SP tickets for Rajya Sabha polls, scheduled to take place February 27, for which the party has fielded Ramjilal Suman, Jaya Bachchan and Alok Ranjan, saying that party has not followed its own call for support to the "PDA." PDA is the acronym given by SP chief Yadav to refer to "Picchde, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak." He also said that till SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav is there in the party, it has a dark future.

He even questioned the secular character of the party, saying the party held a "Shaligram puja" in its office.

"Even the BJP never performed puja in its office. But SP did that in its office," he said.

Akhilesh Yadav had recently conducted a Shaligram puja in the party office. The 'Shila' (rock) is to be installed at Kedareshwar temple in Etawah being constructed by Yadav.

Maurya had joined the Samajwadi Party leaving the BJP ahead of the 2022 assembly polls, contesting the elections unsuccessfully from Fazilnagar. His daughter Sanghmitra is the BJP's Badaun MP.

Maurya, considered a prominent leader of the backward classes in the state, has been a five-time MLA. He has served as a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, leader of the House and leader of opposition.

Having joined the BJP from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), he served as labour minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led government between 2017 and 2022.

Maurya, while resigning, took exception to some Samajwadi Party leaders terming his statements "personal" and not coming to his defence.

"I was surprised when a senior most leader of the party, instead of remaining silent, tried to break the morale of the workers by saying my statements are personal," he said.

"I could not understand that I am a national general secretary whose statement becomes a personal statement. There are some national general secretaries and leaders whose every statement becomes a party statement.

"How the statements of those on the same post become party statements and mine become personal is beyond understanding," he added.

He also claimed that people from tribal communities, Dalits and backward classes were drawn to the party because of his efforts.

Maurya was earlier attacked by party leader Manoj Kumar Pandey over his several statements on religion, labelling him as someone who had lost his marbles.

"The person who lost mental balance keeps making such statements. The party has repeatedly asked him not to do so, but when a deranged man does not want to listen to instructions, no one can do anything," Pandey had said.

SP leader Shivpal Yadav also termed Maurya's statements on Hindu Gods as his personal remarks.