A week after tendering his resignation from the post of Samajwadi Party national general secretary, Swami Prasad Maurya on February 20 resigned from the party's primary membership and the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council while also announcing the formation of a new party.
Mr. 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 Ram Temple consecration ceremony.
He said that he will form a new party and announce it on Thursday in New Delhi.
"I got an opportunity to work with you [SP president Akhilesh Yadav]. 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," Mr. Maurya said in a letter addressed to the party chief.
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.
Mr. 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 Mr. 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 that is being constructed by the party chief.
Mr. 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.
Mr. 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 U.P. government, leader of the House and Leader of the 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.
Mr. Maurya, while resigning, took exception to some SP 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.
He also claimed that people from tribal communities, Dalits and backward classes were drawn to the party because of his efforts.
