Rae Bareli MLA Aditi among Congress’ 40 star campaigners for Oct 21 bypolls

LUCKNOW: The name of the Congress's Rae Bareli MLA, Aditi Singh, who has been served a show-cause notice for defying a party whip and attending a special 36-hour session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, has made it to the list of the party's star campaigners for the Assembly bypolls due later this month.

Singh, who not only attended the special Assembly session, but also spoke in the House against her party's decision to boycott it, was among the 40 star campaigners of the Congress for the bypolls to 11 Assembly seats slated for October 21, party sources said.

Though Congress leaders refused to speak on the matter, party insiders said the list was prepared before Singh defied the party whip.

"The list issued by party general secretary Mukul Wasnik bears the date of September 23, days before the Assembly session. No remedial step has, however, been taken in the backdrop of her (Singh) coming out in the open against the party stand," a senior Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity.

The grand old party issued a show-cause notice to Singh on Friday and asked her to reply to it within two days, a deadline that ended on Sunday.

"You defied the party whip and took part in the proceedings. This amounts to indiscipline and anti-party activity," Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Ajay Kumar Lallu said in the show-cause notice, adding that action would be taken against the Rae Bareli MLA if her reply was not submitted by the deadline. Asked if the party had received Singh's reply, Lallu said he was not aware of it as the CLP office was closed on account of Dussehra holidays.