Samajwadi Party revamps national panel; Shivpal back, Maurya gets berth

Several leaders who joined the SP ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections also found a place in the 63-member committee, the highest decision-making body of the party.

The notable among them is party MLC Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently made the headlines with his remarks on Ramcharitmanas, calling the epic written by Goswami Tulsidas “derogatory” towards Dalits, tribals, Backwards and women.

Maurya, who was a minister in the first term of Yogi Adityanath’s government, has been made national general secretary along with Shivpal. This is the first party post for the non-Yadav OBC leader since he joined the SP last year. Even as the ruling BJP has been targeting Maurya and an FIR has been lodged over his latest remarks, Akhilesh has largely remained silent on the issue. On Saturday when asked to comment on Maurya’s remarks on Ramcharitmanas, Akhilesh said he would ask him to join the movement for seeking caste census in Uttar Pradesh.

Former BSP leader Lalji Verma, who won on an SP ticket from Ambedkarnagar, has been made national general secretary, along with Ram Achal Rajbhar, who like Verma had switched to the SP from the BSP in the run-up to the Assembly polls last year.

Veteran leader Azam Khan, who was disqualified as an MLA following his conviction in a hate speech case, has been appointed national general secretary.

Later in the evening, the SP in a separate statement announced Saleem Iqbal Sherwani, a former Union minister, as a national general secretary. The other national general secretaries are Ravi Prakash Verma, Balram Yadav, Vishwambhar Prasad Nishad, Awadhesh Prasad, Indrajeet Saroj, Ramjilal Suman, J Antony, Harendra Malik, and Neeraj Chowdhury.

While Akhilesh will continue to be national president, the party leader from Bengal, Kiranmoy Nanda, will be the national vice-president. Akhilesh’s uncle, Ram Gopal Yadav, will remain chief national general secretary.