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Expelled from party for opposing SP Maurya’s remark on Ramcharitmanas: Richa Singh
After her sudden expulsion from the Samajwadi Party on Thursday evening, former president of the Allahabad University Students’ Union Richa Singh has termed the move as ‘anti-women and undemocratic’
After her sudden expulsion from the Samajwadi Party on Thursday evening, former president of the Allahabad University Students’ Union Richa Singh has termed the move as ‘anti-women and undemocratic’.
She has further alleged the party has expelled her because she openly stood against the comments made by senior party leader Swami Prasad Maurya on the epic Ramcharitmanas.
Apart from Richa, the SP had also expelled another woman spokesperson Roli Tiwari Mishra from Agra within hours of issuing guidelines to party cadre to avoid debating communal and religious issues and focus only on political and basic public issues.
Richa, who had lost the 2022 assembly elections on an SP ticket from Allahabad west seat, said that action against her has been taken because she opposed the statements made by Swami Prasad Maurya.
“Swami Prasad has been attacked for his remarks on Ramcharitmanas by many male leaders of the Samajwadi Party as well, but no action was taken against them by the party. By unilaterally taking action against women, the party has shown its anti-women mentality,” she claimed.
She said that the page in Part-III of the Constitution, which describes our Fundamental Rights, begins with the picture of Lord Ram, Lakshman and Bhagwati Sita.
“Lord Ram is the soul of India and even Muslim writer, philosopher and scholar Allama Iqbal has considered him as Imam Hind. In such a situation, I stood and will stand with the spiritual and constitutional soul of India. If Akhilesh Yadav wants to do his own politics by insulting Lord Ram, then let me remind him that Mahant Raju Das, who has a dispute with Swami Prasad Maurya, comes from Yadav community and not from a Pandit or Thakur,” Richa said.
She said, “I was asked to withdraw my opposition to the statement made by Maurya which I refused. That is why I have been expelled without being served a notice and without any reason.”
“SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has no specific reason to provide for my expulsion, else I should have been told whether I have done anything against the interest of the party apart from opposing the statement of Maurya. The party which does not believe in natural justice, will not believe in social justice as propagated by Lohia, who envisioned the Ramayana Mela and considered Lord Ram as an ideal,” she added.
She said, “Vinaash kaale, vipareet buddhi” (when the end approaches, an individual loses his or her wisdom).
Richa had contested the state assembly polls from Prayagraj’s Allahabad West assembly seat on SP ticket twice but lost.
Richa was declared elected president of AU student union in October 2015 on the support of SP and she formally joined the party in December 2016. She contested the 2017 and 2022 assembly election as a Samajwadi Party candidate from Allahabad west and lost to BJP’s Siddharth Nath Singh with a margin of around 64,000 and 89,000 votes, respectively.
