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The wedding had gained more attention after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav visited Dutt’s residence.
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.”
Surendra Sagar has been a significant figure in the BSP, holding key roles over the years. He has associated with BSP since 1995
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)