SP turmoil turns Amar into MP sans party

Amar Singh is no longer a Samajwadi Party member of the Rajya Sabha following a letter from the SP to the Upper House secretariat that he was expelled from the party on January 1. Mr Singh will from now on be a “member without any party affiliation”.

“I am directed to enclose a copy of the letter dated February 13 and its enclosure from Prof Ram Gopal Yadav, member and Leader of the Samajwadi Party in Rajya Sabha and in view of the said communication, our records will reflect your status as a Member without Party Affiliation in the Rajy Sabha records,” the Rajya Sabha secretariat said in a letter to the MP.

The secretariat also enclosed a letter by Ram Gopal Yadav which states that Mr Singh was expelled from the party in the convention in Lucknow on January 1.

The letter also listed all the names of the remaining 18 members of the Samajwadi Party in the Rajya Sabha, and stated that while Ram Gopal Yadav was the leader of the parliamentary party, Naresh Agrawal was the chief whip.

SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav ostensibly backed the Shivpal Yadav faction in the feud. Amar Singh was expelled in a tit-for-tat sacking.