Samajwadi Party Seeks Probe Into Ousted MLA Pooja Pal's "Life Threat From Party" Claim

The Samajwadi Party on Sunday urged the Union home ministry to investigate expelled MLA Pooja Pal's claim that she faced life threats from the party, saying the truth must be brought to light.

In a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, Shyamlal Pal, the Samajwadi Party's (SP) Uttar Pradesh president, dismissed the charges as "baseless and indecorous", saying Pooja Pal must clarify as to who issued the "threat".

Pooja Pal, a three-time MLA and widow of murdered BSP MLA Raju Pal, was expelled by the SP on August 14 for "breach of discipline".

"The responsibility for ensuring anyone's safety rests with the government, yet Pal, after meeting the chief minister (Yogi Adityanath), has held the SP accountable without any grounds. The allegations warrant a thorough probe," the letter said.

Shyamlal Pal claimed that the expelled MLA's recent remarks in the press and on social media were "far from truth" and "inspired by the BJP", calling them part of a conspiracy to malign the SP.

"The SP made Pooja Pal an MLA and stood by her during her personal crises, with party chief Akhilesh Yadav extending all possible help. But after coming into contact with the BJP, she is suddenly claiming to fear for her life," Shyamlal Pal said.

He also accused the BJP of using Pooja Pal as a "pawn" to discredit the SP and the PDA (an acronym for 'Pichhde', Dalit, and 'Alpsankhyak') social coalition, which he claimed the saffron party sees as threat ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh polls.

During the Monsoon session of Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Pooja Pal, the SP MLA from Chail in Kaushambi, had praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for ending what she described as the "reign of terror" of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad in Prayagraj.

Ahmad had allegedly plotted the 2005 murder of her husband Raju Pal, just days after their marriage.

On April 15, 2023, Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead from a point-blank range while being taken for a medical check-up by police.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, SP chief Akhilesh Yaday said they do not trust the state government and that is why his party's state president has written to the Union home minister seeking a probe into Pooja Pal's claim.

"We are in the opposition and she claims to be facing a threat from us. It can happen that the BJP's men might get her killed and then blame the opposition," Yadav said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)