Manoj Pandey resigns from SP chief whip post after meeting CM Yogi Adityanath, 8 MLAs go missing from the dinner hosted by Akhilesh Yadav on Monday.
As five Samajwadi Party MLAs met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after casting their vote for the Rajya Sabha election, there was speculation of them having cross-voted in favour of the BJP. In response to this development, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that disciplinary action would be taken against the MLAs if they had cross voted.
Samajwadi Party MLAs Abhay Singh, Rakesh Singh, Rakesh Pandey, Vinod Chaturvedi and Manoj Pandey met the CM in the Assembly Secretariat on Wednesday.
“Not everybody has the guts to stand against the government. Pressure is put on everybody, is there anyone who doesn’t know that BJP would go to any extent to win. BJP was dishonest during the Chandigarh elections also… When it comes to UP, BJP did everything to get votes and those who left, might not have had the guts to stand against the govt. Action will be taken because our party leaders want such people to be kept away from the party…” said Akhilesh Yadav.
Meanwhile, Apna Dal (K) leader Pallavi Patel claimed that she had cast her vote for Samajwadi Party candidate Ram Lal Suman in the name of the PDA. Regarding the reported spat with the SP chief over the phone, Pallavi Patel said, “Now is not the time to talk about this, now we should talk about PDA (Backward, Dalit and Minority).”
Reportedly, there was a heated argument over the phone between Yadav and Patel regarding Rajya Sabha voting on Tuesday. Earlier, in a blow to the Samajwadi Party, MLA and leader Manoj Kumar Pandey resigned from the post of Samajwadi Party chief whip.
Manoj Pandey met CM Yogi Adityanath in his chamber in the Legislative Assembly. Transport Minister Daya Shankar Singh was also present during the meeting.
“I have requested the party chief to accept my resignation from the post of chief whip,” said Pandey when he was going to meet Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh.
After he met with the SP MLA, Dayashankar Singh said that the SP MLA was a supporter of Sanatan Dharma. “Many public representatives are joining the BJP due to being influenced by PM Modi’s policies and the development that is happening in the country. Manoj Pandey ji has always been a supporter of Sanatan Dharma, he has been giving equal statements on this issue inside and outside the House. That’s why he was unhappy there and when the proposal came for the darshan of Ram ji, he wanted everyone to go for darshan,” Dayashankar Singh said.
Earlier, another Samajwadi Party MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh indicated he would vote against the party saying that he is not angry with his party but will listen to the voice of his inner soul before casting his vote.
“ I’m not angry with anyone, I will vote according to the voice of inner soul…” said Rakesh Pratap Singh.
On Monday, some legislators of the SP went missing from a dinner hosted by Akhilesh Yadav. Reports suggest that at least 8 MLAs were missing from the dinner.
The BJP, however, was confident in getting the numbers to win all the eights seats where they have put up candidates.