A Samajwadi Party leader on Saturday announced his resignation from the party, alleging a lack of action against party workers who abused his wife, a Congress spokesperson, for criticising Akhilesh Yadav.
Anil Yadav, who is married to Congress leader Pankhuri Pathak, posted a statement in Hindi on his Twitter account, asking how a party that cannot be expected to respect women in its own family would work for the dignity of the women in the society.
Pankhuri herself is a former SP leader and appeared on various TV channels as its spokesperson before switching to the Congress.
Read his statement in Hindi here:
What is the issue?
The controversy began after Congress social media handles launched criticism against Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over a picture where he is seen sitting on a sofa while people around him are sitting on the ground. Critics asked whether it was samajwad (socialism) or samantwad (feudalism).
Pathak had also shared a Facebook post of a Congress worker, criticising Akhilesh for the same. A Samajwadi Party supporter, who identified himself as a "youth leader" of the party, posted indignified comments on her Facebook post, saying that she is a "mistress of Yaduvanshi family."
Pathak tagged UP Police in a post with a screenshot of the profile and demanded that action be taken. Subsequently, an FIR was registered in Lucknow and Police have started their probe.
Yadav alleged that while the party took no action against the offender, he started getting advice to instead talk to Pankhuri about it. He claimed that he was soon thrown out of all official WhatsApp groups of the party, which he took as a sign and resigned.
