Lucknow, June 23 (IANS) The Samajwadi Party has defended its decision to expel three sitting MLAs, stating that the action was justified as the legislators had betrayed the party and compromised their integrity.

Party’s deputy whip in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Dr R.K. Verma, said, “These MLAs won on the SP symbol but betrayed the party and the democratic process. During the Rajya Sabha elections, they sold their conscience. They violated the party whip and voted for the BJP. That was a clear insult to democratic traditions. Their expulsion may have come late, but it was absolutely justified.”

He went on to highlight the gravity of their actions: “This was not just political defection, it was ideological betrayal. They acted against the interests of the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) coalition, which lies at the heart of the Samajwadi Party’s mission. Instead of strengthening the movement, they worked against it, and openly favoured the BJP’s agenda.”

Targeting Manoj Pandey specifically, who previously held the post of SP’s chief whip in the Assembly, Verma said, “When the Rajya Sabha elections were held, a clear whip was issued by the party. Yet Pandey, who was the chief whip himself, along with others, defied it. Whether it was fear, money, or promises, the BJP found a way to corrupt these MLAs. Such disloyalty cannot be tolerated in a party committed to democratic and socialist principles.”

Earlier, the Samajwadi Party on Monday expelled three of its sitting MLAs — Abhay Singh (Gosaiganj), Rakesh Pratap Singh (Gauriganj), and Manoj Kumar Pandey (Unchahar) — for indulging in what it described as anti-party activities and ideological deviation.

The decision was announced through an official statement on the party’s X handle.

The statement cited the legislators’ alleged alignment with “communal, divisive, and negative ideologies,” contradicting the party’s “socialist, harmonious, and progressive” values.

–IANS

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