Congress’ UP leader issued notice for criticising Akhilesh

By Saiyed Moziz Imam

Lucknow, Sep 20 (IANS) In a sign of fresh bonhomie brewing between the Congress and Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, the Congress has acted against its UP state unit Vice President Motiur Rahman 'Babloo' for criticising SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Rahman, who is in Delhi, has sought an appointment with Congress General Secretary and in-charge of eastern UP Priyanka Gandhi to explain his position. He has alleged that some new people in the party are creating trouble for old timers who have stood with Congress in bad times, without naming Ajay Kumar 'Lallu', leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

When IANS asked Ajay Kumar, he said that he is not aware of the matter and will find out the reasons.

The matter pertains to Rampur where Rahman has been issued show cause notice. A copy of the notice is with IANS.

The first notice was issued on September 9, signed by Vinod Chaudhary, a member of the disciplinary committee. Rahman was given a reminder notice on September 14 by Ram Jiyawan, also a member of the disciplinary committee.

In the first show cause notice, Rahman was asked for an explanation on why he spoke against Akhilesh Yadav without taking permission from the party. He was asked to explain his position in five days.

Rahman said that he had advised Akhilesh Yadav not to visit Rampur during Moharram earlier this month. However, in the reminder notice, the party has alleged that he has been working against the party for a long time and speaking in foul language.

In his reply, Rahman said he has been working for the Congress party for more than 35 years. He has been the face of the party but he was opposing SP leader Azam Khan over the latter's misdeeds. He has also questioned whether the party is in alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

The Congress is trying to form an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in Maharashtra in order to stop erosion of its north Indian and minority votes to the SP.

The leader of the party in Maharashtra Abu Asim Azmi has hinted that the party is heading towards an amicable settlement.

The Congress and Samajwadi Party were in alliance for the 2017 UP assembly elections, but fared badly. The BJP won more than 300 of the state's 403 seats. After the results, both parties parted ways. In the general election, the Samajwadi Party allied with the BSP but could not get the double digit number. While the BSP managed to win 10 seats, the SP only got five seats.