Pooja Pal accuses Akhilesh Yadav of shielding mafia, reiterates allegation of threat to life

Expelled Samajwadi Party MLA Pooja Pal on Monday wrote to party chief Akhilesh Yadav accusing him of shielding criminals and saying she fears the "SP-sponsored mafia" might get her killed.

The three-time MLA and widow of murdered BSP MLA Raju Pal, who was expelled by the SP on August 14 for "breach of discipline", also said the party's policies are dangerous for social harmony.

"My husband was chased and gunned down with AK-47 rifles in broad daylight when the SP was in power. Even after his murder, the SP fielded Atiq Ahmad's brother Ashraf against me in three elections. When I needed support, the party sided with my husband's killers," Pal wrote in a letter that is being circulated widely on social media.

"My husband was murdered under SP rule. No such crime has happened under any other government. I fear SP-sponsored mafia may get me killed," asserted the SP MLA from Chail in Kaushambi.

Thanking voters and the Pal community for backing her against SP candidates, Pal alleged that the SP expelled her not for cross-voting in a Rajya Sabha election as was widely believed but because she named mafia don Atiq Ahmad in the Assembly.

Reacting to Akhilesh Yadav's statement that the SP had made her an MLA and BJP opposed her, Pal said she never aspired to become a minister.

"My only aim was to get justice for my husband's killers. The Yogi Adityanath government ensured punishment to them, while SP continues to nurture criminals - a sin future generations will not forgive," she said.

Pal alleged that her expulsion from SP emboldened the Atiq Ahmad family and warned that its members still pose a threat to her life.

"They may be silent under the Yogi government's pressure, but the SP's actions have boosted their morale," she claimed.

Targeting SP's PDA (Backward, Dalit, Minority) formula, Pal said Yadav changes its meaning repeatedly.

"I am a daughter of the Pal community - poor, helpless, and backward - yet you never stood firm on PDA. Even in your government, extremely backward castes were treated as leftovers while you prioritised your own caste and Muslims," she alleged.

Referring to SP state president Shyamlal Pal's letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking a probe into her allegations, Pooja Pal said she too demanded a probe and expressed full faith in Shah.

She dismissed any threat from BJP leaders.

"I have fought dangers all my life. My people and the Pal community stand like a rock behind me. SP cannot finish me so easily. Its policies are dangerous for social harmony," she said.

The SP on Sunday urged the Union home ministry to investigate her claims and said the truth must come to light.

During the state assembly's Monsoon session, Pal praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for ending what she described as the reign of terror of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad in Prayagraj.

Ahmad had allegedly plotted the 2005 murder of her husband Raju Pal, just days after their marriage. On April 15, 2023, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at pointblank range while being taken for a medical checkup by police.