Page 17 - Samajwadi Party

Hold LS-UP polls simultaneously before 'One Nation, One Election': Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said before implementing 'One Nation, One Election' in the country, the BJP government should carry out an experiment by holding the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls this time. The Centre on Friday constituted a committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind to explore the feasibility of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. In a post in Hindi on 'X', Yadav wrote, "An experiment is done before doing any big work we are suggesting that before implementing 'One Nation, One Election', the BJP government should hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest number of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha seats, this time." The last assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh were held in 2022 and the next elections are scheduled in 2027. Yadav went on to suggest that the public was angry with the BJP and will ensure its defeat. "This will reveal th

SP releases names of 2 more candidates for MP polls, total tally at 6

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has declared names of two more candidates for the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls due this year-end, taking the number of its candidates to six. Asked if the Samajwadi Party will contest the MP polls in alliance with the Congress as a constituent of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), SP state president Ramayan Singh Patel ruled out such a possibility. The decision about the alliance in any state is taken by the party's national leadership, but as of now we don't see any possibility of such an alliance in Madhya Pradesh for the upcoming assembly polls. But, our national president will take a decision in this regard, Patel told PTI on Sunday. The opposition bloc INDIA is an alliance of 26 political parties, including the Congress and the SP. In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been the main political opponents with a marginal role of other parties. Notably, the SP is the third party af

SC stays trial court order directing Azam Khan to give voice sample

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed an order of a trial court directing Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan to give a voice sample in a case of allegedly delivering a hate speech and using derogatory language against BSP chief Mayawati in 2007. The voice sample has been sought to match it with Khan's speech, which was made during a public meeting in Rampur's Tanda area in 2007 and recorded on a CD. A bench of justices A S Bopanna and P K Mishra issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant in the case on the plea filed by Khan. "Issue notice to the respondent. In the meanwhile, there shall be an interim stay of the direction of the trial court order dated October 29, 2022, and upheld by the high court dated July 25, 2023," the bench said. Khan has challenged the July 25 order of the Allahabad High Court which disposed of his plea and upheld the order of the trial court in Rampur. The complaint was registered by one Dheeraj Kumar Sheel against Khan at the Tanda .

BJP attacking country's composite culture, dividing society: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the BJP of attacking the country's composite culture and dividing the society. Addressing the SP minority wing executive meeting at the party headquarters here, Yadav said the BJP will face a rout in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "In the 2022 state elections, the BJP conspired and prevented the SP from coming to power. But this time (2024 general elections), the SP will ensure that the BJP faces a rout. The BJP government at the Centre will be ousted from power," Yadav said. "Apart from attacking the composite culture of the country, it (BJP) has worked to divide the society," he added. Yadav also accused the BJP of defaming the Samajwadi Party and its leadership and alleged that the ruling party was "full of loot and corruption". "The pride of the BJP will be shattered by the might of the Samajwadi Party. The SP, INDIA alliance and the PDA (pichhde, Dalits and alpsankhyak) together will be successful in remo

Shoe thrown at SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya during party event in Lucknow

A shoe was thrown at senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya during a party event here on Monday. The shoe did not reach up to Maurya. Party workers overpowered the alleged assailant and thrashed him. "The accused has been taken to a hospital and further details will be known after questioning him," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Lucknow) Aniandy Vikram Singh told PTI. The alleged assailant, Akash Saini, was dressed as a lawyer, the officer said. He was taken into custody by the Vibhuti Khand police. The incident took place at the SP's one-day 'mahasammelan' at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan. Party president Akhilesh Yadav was scheduled to address the event. He had not reached the venue at the time of the incident. Maurya, a prominent OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh who had defected to the SP from the BJP just before the 2022 assembly elections, has been in the thick of a controversy over his remarks on the Ramcharitmanas and Hindu temples.

Veteran actor Rajinikanth meets Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav

A day after a "courtesy meeting" with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, veteran actor Rajinikanth on Sunday met Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav at the latter's residence here. Rajinikanth, who is basking in the success of his latest film "Jailer", said he was happy to reconnect with Yadav, whom he called his friend, after almost a decade. "Nine years ago, I had met Akhilesh at a function in Mumbai. Since then, our friendship has continued, and we talk over the phone. I had come here five years ago for a shooting, (but) Akhilesh was not there, and (I) could not meet him. He is here now and I met him," the 72-year-old star told reporters here. He also said that his meeting with the UP CM on Saturday was "very good". Yadav also shared a series of photos from the meeting with Rajinikanth via his account on X, formerly called Twitter. "When hearts meet, people embrace. During my engineering studies in Mysore, the happiness I used to feel seeing Rajinikanth ji on th

SP has gone off rails, no more socialist: UP minister Brajesh Pathak

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Saturday called Samajwadi Party a "derailed" party which has left behind its socialist principles. "The party is derailed. It has deviated from its policies. These are not the real socialists but those who help mafia flourish," Pathak told reporters on the sidelines of an event held to commemorate those killed during the 1942 Ballia uprising. "The people of Uttar Pradesh have pushed them to the edge. When in power, they promoted hooliganism and mafias. I can say with full faith that the people of the state will never accept them," he said on the SP. Pathak was retaliating to SP president Akhilesh Yadav's statement on Friday that the BJP stood in opposition to the 1942 Quit India Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi and was making up for it now by hoisting flags everywhere. "The people of BJP's ideology and their mother organisation (RSS) opposed the Quit India Movement led by the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. To hide the sa

SP's social media coordinator booked for publishing 'offensive' post

Samajwadi Party's social media coordinator Manish Jagan Agarwal has been booked for allegedly making derogatory and abusive posts against former Allahabad university student's union president Richa Singh, officials said. Singh had contested the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll from Prayagraj on a Samajwadi Party ticket. An FIR against Agarwal has been lodged at the Shivkuti police station on a complaint by Richa Singh who alleged being targeted by him on social media platform X, called Twitter till recently, police officials said. According to the FIR, Agarwal, who manages the official X account of the Samajwadi Party, used extremely indecent and derogatory language in response to a tweet by Singh on August 17. It is alleged in the FIR that Agarwal was openly threatening to humiliate and malign her through social media and other means. Based on the complaint, the police lodged an FIR on Friday under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. It

SP members stage walkout from UP Assembly over unemployment issue

Members of the Samajwadi Party walked out of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Friday, the fifth day of the Monsoon session, over the issue of unemployment in the state. During the Question Hour in the Vidhan Sabha, the SP members had asked the Minister of Labour and Employment Anil Rajbhar about the major employment schemes being implemented by the Labour Department at present and the number of educated unemployed youth in the state. However, dissatisfied with Rajbhar's response, the SP members staged a walkout and raised anti-government slogans. "Will the government, keeping the above details on the table of the House, tell the total number of educated unemployed -- Inter, BA, MA, Diploma, B.Tech, M.Tech, PhD degree holders -- in the state and how many of these people have been given jobs by the Labour Department in the last two years? If not, why?" asked SP MLA Sangram Yadav. Responding to Yadav's question, Rajbhar said that the work of providing employment opportunities

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Three seats of power looting country, alleges SP's Swami Prasad Maurya

Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Sunday said there are only three seats of power and all of them are looting the country. In a video clip in Hindi released by him on Twitter, Maurya identified the three "gaddis" (seats) as the "raj gaddi" of the prime minister and chief minister, "mutt gaddi" of the shankaracharyas and seers, and "seth gaddi" of businesses like the Adani and Ambani groups. "Today there is an alliance between these three seats of power. When there is a threat to the 'raj gaddi', the 'seth gaddi' and 'mutt gaddi' come to its rescue by opening its coffers. "When the 'mutt gaddi' is in trouble, the 'seth gaddi' and 'raj gaddi' provide financial assistance, and when the 'seth gaddi' faces any problem, it gets bailed out by the other two," Maurya said. Pointing at the crowd, he said, "But you are not there on any of the three seats." The SP leader had last week accused the BJP of inciting communal feelings on the Gyanvapi Mosque issue. A month before the 2

BJP using 'Hindutva' to divide society, grab power: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Saturday accused the BJP of employing its own version of 'Hindutva' to "divide" society and grab power, and asserted there is a need to save the "true Hindutva". He also accused the BJP government of conducting "fake encounters", and said people will "encounter the BJP government in 2024" which "is necessary for saving the Constitution". Yadav also claimed opposition alliance INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) will uproot the "divisive" BJP government in 2024 with the support of the PDA (Pichhade, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) in Uttar Pradesh. "They (the BJP) have done a lot of fake encounters. Now people will encounter the BJP government in 2024," Yadav told PTI in an interview when he was asked how the INDIA bloc and the SP will counter the BJP challenge in the Lok Sabha polls. About the future of opposition alliance in the state, Yadav said, "The SP is there. More parties that are willing to join the INDIA alliance are welcom

Allahabad HC issues notice to SP leader Azam Khan in hate speech case

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday issued a notice to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in a 2019 hate speech case and directed that the record of the trial court as well as appellate court of Rampur be summoned. The high court was hearing an appeal filed by the Uttar Pradesh government challenging a Rampur court's order acquitting Khan in the case. After hearing the appeal, Justice Raj Beer Singh fixed September 27 as the next date of hearing in the case. Khan had allegedly made derogatory remarks against UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. A criminal case alleging hate speech was registered against him at Milak police station in Rampur. Subsequently, the former UP minister was convicted and given three years imprisonment in the said hate speech case by the trial court of Rampur in October 2022. As a result, he was disqualified as MLA from UP Assembly. Khan was convicted under sections 153A (promoting enmity between two groups) and 505 (stateme

India's image being tarnished internationally: Akhilesh on cheetah deaths

A day after another cheetah died at the Kuno National Park, Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said India's image is being tarnished at the international level due to this. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh forest department said a female cheetah was found dead in the morning and post-mortem examination was being conducted to ascertain the cause of death. This is the ninth cheetah to die at Kuno since March. In a tweet in Hindi, Yadav said, "Who is responsible for the death of the ninth cheetah at the Kuno National Park? Where are all those now who were busy promoting the event (release of cheetahs into Kuno National Park) as a symbol of the power of the BJP government?" India's image is being tarnished at the international level due to this. The deaths of these cheetahs are being talked about in the countries from where they were brought, he said. Under the much-vaunted Project Cheetah, a total of 20 animals were brought from Namibia and South .

'If BJP surveys mosques, people will search for monasteries in temples'

In an apparent reference to disputes in Varanasi and Mathura, Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said if the BJP looks for a temple in every mosque then people would start searching for a Buddhist monastery in every temple. "The Badrinath and Kedarnath temples in Uttarakhand, the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the Ayyappa Temple in Kerala and the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur (Maharashtra) were Buddhist monasteries. These Buddhist monasteries were demolished and then Hindu religious shrines came up there. They were Buddhist monasteries till the eighth century," he said on Sunday. The SP national general secretary claimed there is ample historical evidence that all these temples were Buddhist monasteries. He said his intention is not to turn these temples into Buddhist monasteries "but, if you search for a temple in every mosque, then why should a Buddhist monastery not be searched for in every temple?" "BJP people under a conspiracy are raising the mosque-temple issue. They are .

'If there is double-engine govt, entire country will become like Manipur'

The entire country "will become like Manipur" in the coming days if the BJP remains in power, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Chaudhary charged on Saturday. Addressing a programme in Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, the SP leader targeted the BJP over its pitch for "double-engine government" -- the same party being in power in state and Centre. "If there is a double-engine government in the country, then in the coming days the whole country will become like Manipur," he charged. "This should not be allowed to happen, it is the responsibility of all socialists," the former leader of opposition in the Uttar Pradesh assembly said. The northeastern state of Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3, in which more than 160 people have died. Chaudhary said that two women being paraded naked in Manipur on May 4, a video of which has surfaced this week, is a blot not only on the law and order situation but on the entire humanity. He appealed to the President to take cognizance of

Politics of 'vote' of BJP responsible for situation in Manipur: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday alleged that the politics of "vote" of the BJP is responsible for the situation in Manipur. He also attacked the ruling party at the Centre over a May 4 video showing two women being paraded naked in the northeastern state's Senapati district. "The politics of hate of the RSS and the politics of vote of the BJP are responsible for the situation in Manipur," Akhilesh Yadav, a member of the newly formed opposition alliance INDIA, said in a tweet in Hindi. "The family members of sisters and daughters will definitely think once before even looking towards the BJP," he said. Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after the video surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities in Manipur being paraded naked by a mob from the other side. The Manipur Police on Thursday arrested one of the main accused who was seen in the video. Manipur has been witnessing ethnic clashes since May 3 between the majority Meite

SP leader Azam Khan gets two-year jail in another case of hate speech

An MP/MLA court here on Saturday sentenced senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan to two years imprisonment in a case of provocative speech during the 2019 general elections. Judge Shobhit Bansal convicted Khan and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. He also imposed a fine of Rs. 2500 on the former Uttar Pradesh minister. The case was registered against Khan during the 2019 Lok Sabha general election for allegedly making a provocative speech during a rally in the Dhamora area on April 8 that year. An MP-MLA court here had last year convicted Khan in another 2019 hate speech case which was registered after he addressed a public meeting in Khatanagaria village of the Milak Kotwali area. He was sentenced to three years of imprisonment, following which he was disqualified from the UP assembly. In May this year, a sessions court overturned the verdict of the lower court.

Wrong to discuss UCC now as its structure not yet known: Jayant Chaudhary

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary on Monday said any discussion on a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) now is "wrong" as its "structure" is not known yet, but said men and women should get equal rights. RLD's alliance partner Samajwadi Party has slammed the government over UCC. "As of now, I do not know its 'swaroop' (structure). Discussing it now is wrong. In modern India, everyone should be given equal rights. Men and women should get equal rights. How the government does this job, this has to be seen," the RLD chief told reporters here when asked to comment on UCC. Chaudhary has made his remarks on UCC for the first time, said RLD's UP unit chief Ramashis Rai. A fresh debate on UCC has been ignited after the Law Commission initiated a public consultation process on June 14 by inviting views from all stakeholders, including people and recognised religious organisations, on the politically sensitive issue. Implementation of a UCC has been part of BJP election manifestos a

'Sabka saath sabka vikaas' a sham: Akhilesh pitches for caste survey

Mocking the Bharatiya Janata Party's slogan 'Sabka saath, sabka vikaas', Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Sunday said instead of sloganeering, it should focus on eliminating inequality in the country by holding a nationwide caste survey to ensure that all communities get their due share in the development. Speaking at a programme held at the Samajwadi Party (SP) office here to mark the 74th birth anniversary of late veteran Kurmi leader Sonelal Patel, Yadav said, "If we demand a caste-based census, then we are termed as casteist people by the BJP." "The BJP cleverly sings the slogan of 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas' but will development reach everyone merely by saying 'sabka saath'?" the SP chief asked. "This inequality will end only if a caste census is carried out and people of all communities get their due respect and honour." Citing the provision of a caste survey in several countries, Yadav said instead of implementing rules to bring people who lag on an equal plane with othe