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Phulpur ex-MP quits Samajwadi Party

The Samajwadi Party today received another setback when national secretary Jang Bahadur Singh Patel, member of the twelfth Lok Sabha from Phulpur, resigned from the party's primary membership.

Patel said he took the action to protest against party president Mulayam Singh Yadav's anti-people and pro-Bharatiya Janata Party policies. He alleged that the Samajwadi Party had deviated from its basic principles. Its activities are anti-minority, anti-backward and anti-Dalit, he charged.

By not supporting the Congress in the formation of a government at the Centre, the Samajwadi Party had given the BJP another chance and imposed a mid-term poll on the people. He said Yadav had fielded dummy candidates in 22 Lok Sabha constituencies to pave the way for the victory of BJP candidates.

On September 1, senior Samajwadi Party leader Atiq Ahmad, MLA from Allahabad West, had resigned from the party and the assembly to protest against Yadav's alleged dictatorial attitude.

Patel -- a senior Bahujan Samaj Party leader and its state president for 17 years before joining the Samajwadi Party -- said he had decided to support Apna Dal president and candidate Sone Lal Patel in Phulpur.

Patel, who won Phulpur in the 1996 and 1998 Lok Sabha elections as a Samajwadi Party candidate, was denied a ticket this time. He alleged that Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh was anti-backward and played a vital role in denying him [Patel] the ticket. If Amar Singh continued to play this role, he warned, it would not be long before the party would see its end.

UNI

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