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The wedding had gained more attention after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav visited Dutt’s residence.
BSP Chief Mayawati
Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati in a bizarre move has expelled senior party leader Surendra Sagar after the latter arranged his son’s marriage to daughter of a Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator.
Surendra’s son Ankur got married to Kusum Dutt, daughter of SP MLA Tribhuvan Dutt. Surendra Sagar, a prominent figure in the Bareilly division of BSP, has served as Rampur’s district president five times and held a position equivalent to that of a cabinet minister. While, Tribhuvan Dutt, a former BSP MLA, is now an MLA from Ambedkar Nagar’s Alaapur assembly constituency.
The wedding had gained more attention after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav visited Dutt’s residence.
However, the party cited “anti-party activities and discipline” for Sagar’s expulsion.
In response to the party’s allegations, Surendra Sagar denied the claims saying that his only fault was that his son got married into the family of SP leader.
He said that the marriage was on 27 November and the reception was on 3 December. Sagar further said that he even invited Mayawati along with other party leaders.
He revealed that on 2 December, the party coordinator met the party chief and discussed about his son’s marriage. Sagar claimed that in the meeting, Mayawati’s advisor raised concerns about BSP leaders attending the function of a SP leader.
After much deliberations, Mayawati reportedly refused to let the party leaders attend the wedding, but several leaders attended the function. Later, the party’s district president sent a complaint that despite Mayawati’s refusal people attended the reception, and as a result, Mayawati expelled Sagar.
Sagar said, “I have not engaged in any indiscipline. My only action was to marry my son, Ankur, to the daughter of SP MLA Tribhuvan Dutt.”
Mayawati Clarifies
As soon as the issue got wider, the party chief clarified the decision saying that there were persistent issues between Surendra Sagar and another party leader Pramod Kumar due to which party was suffering.
Due to this, both the leaders were expelled and this has nothing to do with the wedding.
In a post on X, Mayawati said, “The quarrel between former party president of Rampur district Shri Surendra Sagar and later party president Shri Pramod Kumar was at its peak, due to which the party’s work was suffering. So, both of them were expelled together, and it has nothing to do with marriage.”
3. इसी प्रकार रामपुर जिले का पूर्व पार्टी अध्यक्ष श्री सुरेन्द्र सागर व इसके बाद पार्टी अध्यक्ष श्री प्रमोद कुमार का इनसे आपसी झगड़ा चरम पर था, जिससे पार्टी के कार्य सफर कर रहे थे, तब फिर दोनों को एक साथ निकाला गया, जिसका शादी-विवाह का कोई सम्बन्ध नहीं। 3/4— Mayawati (@Mayawati) December 6, 2024
She further said, “Who is making relations with which party has nothing to do with the BSP. People are free to make relations wherever they want. It all depends on their thinking. But be cautious of such people who are spreading false propaganda about this.”
Surendra Sagar has been a significant figure in the BSP, holding key roles over the years. He has associated with BSP since 1995.
Similar incident in the past
The incident comes close on the heels of Mayawati’s similar action in November when she sacked three leaders for attending a wedding associated with an SP leader.
These three officials had attended the wedding of Munkad Ali’s son. Ali, a senior BSP coordinator, is related to SP leader Qadir Rana, who contested the Mirapur by-polls on an SP ticket.
The expelled leaders were Prashant Gautam, in charge of the Meerut division; Mahavir Singh Pradhan, district chief; and Dinesh Kazipur.
(With inputs from News18 Hindi)