Udayveer Singh, a Samajwadi Party MLC and one of the closest aides of Akhilesh Yadav, was on Saturday expelled from the party for "undignified" conduct days after he wrote to SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav
suggesting him to elevate the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister as the party's national president.
A decision to expel Singh was taken after the inaugural meeting of the executive committee of SP's Uttar Pradesh unit adopted a resolution seeking action against him for his "derogatory" comments against Mulayam.
"Udayveer Singh has been expelled from the party for six years for his undignified and indisciplined behaviour," state party spokesman Ambika Chaudhary said.
"The party will not tolerate undignified behaviour and indiscipline. It has reached where it is in 25 years because of discipline," Chaudhary said.
In the four-page letter to the party supremo earlier this week, Singh had said, "SP state president Shivpal Yadav and other members of his family have misled you (Mulayam) and hatched a conspiracy against CM Akhilesh, who should be made party national president and given all the powers."
Singh, whose association with Akhilesh is over three decades hold, with both studying in school together, had reportedly also made some comments about Mulayam's second wife and Chief Minister's step mother, which angered the SP's first family.
Reacting to the development, Singh said he had only put before Mulayam his thoughts about the "conspiracy" against the chief minister.
Asked to comment on his expulsion, he said, "I will give my version only after getting the letter."
Maintaining that he had no regrets about the points raised by him in the letter, Singh said,"Netaji is the patron of the party. I am confident that he will do justice to me and the chief minister."
"Those who used foul language against the party chief are still in the party, but those who are the real well wishers and wrote letters are being expelled," Singh said.
Gaurav Bhatia, SP spokesman, said Singh had crossed the "Lakshman Rekha" in choosing the words he wrote in his letter to Mulayam which also hurt party workers.
"Questioning the leadership of Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is an elected president of the party, was wrong. An MLC cannot dictate who the party president will be. Anybody committing an act of indiscipline has to be punished and this is what has happened," he said.
IMAGE: Expelled SP MLC Udayveer Singh at his residence in Lucknow. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo
