Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday resigned from the primary membership of the Akhilesh Yadav-led party. He also resigned from his membership in the state council.
Former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister and prominent OBC leader, Maurya joined the Samajwadi Party in 2022 and contested the assembly polls from Fazilnagar without success.
“I got an opportunity to work with you. 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,” Maurya stated in a letter to party chief Akhilesh Yadav, which he shared on X.
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In another 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,” it read.
Last week, Maurya resigned as the party’s national general secretary, accusing the leadership of discriminating against him and failing to defend him over his remarks. Maurya had made controversial statements on the Ramcharitmanas and the Ayodhya temple consecration ceremony.
Discussing the Governor’s address in the Legislative Assembly, Maurya had raised questions about Ram Lalla’s ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration) ceremony. He questioned the need to spend crores of rupees on the consecration ceremony on January 22 when Lord Ram had been worshipped in Ayodhya for thousands of years.
Maurya, a prominent leader of the backward classes in the state, has been elected to the Legislative Assembly five times. He served as a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, leader of the House, and leader of the opposition (2012-17) when he was in the BSP.