Expelled Samajwadi Party MLA Pooja Pal has hit back and leveled serious allegations against her erstwhile party SP’s national president Akhilesh Yadav and claimed that her life was in danger from the mafia and goons nurtured by the SP.
Recalling the pain of the murder of her husband Raju Pal, Pooja Pal addressed Akhilesh Yadav through a letter on Monday, in which she launched a scathing attack on the SP’s policy of protecting criminals and her own expulsion from the SP.
This letter has gone viral on social media, in which the ex-SP leader expressed serious apprehension about her safety and said that when her husband was murdered, the Samajwadi Party was the ruling party in the state, so she feared that the mafia goons nurtured by the Samajwadi Party could get her killed.
In the letter, she said that in 2005, her husband Raju Pal was chased and killed during the SP regime. At that time, terror was spread by firing an AK-47 for hours on the main roads of Prayagraj. She alleged that SP opposed her and her husband by fielding Mafia Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf as a candidate in three elections. She said,” When I needed support, SP fielded my husband’s murderer against me. But the people of my area and the Pal community supported me and defeated the criminal candidates of SP. Pooja thanked the public and the Pal community for the support.
Referring to Akhilesh Yadav’s statement in the press conference yesterday, in which he said that SP made Pooja an MLA by giving her a ticket, but the BJP opposed her, Pooja clarified that she had no ambition to become a minister.
“My aim was to get my husband’s murderers punished. The Yogi government gave me justice and crushed the murderers. But the SP is still sinning by catering to the criminals, which the coming generations will not forgive,” she alleged.
BSP MLA Raju Pal, Pooja Pal’s husband, was shot dead in Prayagraj in 2005, days after their wedding. In February 2023, Umesh Pal, a key witness to the murder, was also shot dead in Prayagraj’s Sulem Saray area. Pal stressed that it was during the BJP government that the long-overdue justice was delivered.
Pooja Pal also clarified the reason for her expulsion. She said that there is a misconception in the society that she was expelled from SP due to cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. ”This is wrong. My expulsion happened when I took the name of mafia Atiq Ahmed in the House, the SP could not tolerate it.”
She claimed that this step has boosted the morale of Atiq Ahmed’s family, where dozens of criminals were still present. ”Although they can remain silent under the pressure of the current Yogi government, this step of the SP has increased their courage, due to which my life is in danger,” she claimed.
Pooja took a dig at the PDA (backward, Dalit, minority) formula of SP and said that Akhilesh changes its meaning again and again. ”I am a small, unfortunate, helpless daughter of the Pal community. You are the national president and former Chief Minister, yet you are not able to remain stable on PDA. Referring to the letter written by SP state president Naresh Uttam Patel to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, she said that she also demands an investigation. I have unwavering faith in the Home Minister,” she said.
The Samajwadi Party chief has termed the abbreviation PDA for pichde (backward classes), Dalits, and alpsankhyak (minorities), and has been using the expression as a political plank to gain votes.
On Akhilesh’s statement about how the danger to Pooja increased after meeting the Chief Minister, Pooja retorted. “My husband was murdered in the SP rule. Since then, no such crime has happened in any government to date. I am afraid that the mafia nurtured by the SP can get me killed.” Charging the SP with love for criminals, Pooja said that the entire party went after her when she named the mafia.
Pooja Pal also questioned Akhilesh’s statement that ”BJP made MLAs who disagreed with the SP as ministers. She asked sarcastically how many backward people were made ministers in the SP government? You gave priority only to your community and the Muslim community. The backward people got respect like leftovers. This history is a witness that SP cannot belong to the backward people.”
She firmly said that she is not in any danger from the Bharatiya Janata Party or its leaders. ”I have lived my life fighting dangers. The people of my area and the extremely backward Pal community of Uttar Pradesh stand with me like a rock. It will not be easy for the SP to eliminate me,” she said, adding that the policies of the Samajwadi Party were fatal for social unity.