Swami Prasad Maurya Quits As Samajwadi Party General Secretary, Cites Discrimination

The 70-year-old leader, in a letter addressed to the SP chief, said that he would continue to work to strengthen the party without any post.

LUCKNOW: Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya tendered his resignation from the position of general secretary of the party, sources said on Tuesday. The 70-year-old leader would, however, continue to remain a member of the Akhilesh Yadav-led party. In a letter addressed to the Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, Maurya said that he would continue to work to strengthen the party without holding any post.

Maurya informed Akhilesh about this move to step down as the SP general secretary due to alleged discrimination within the party.  

संज्ञानार्थ,@yadavakhilesh@samajwadiparty pic.twitter.com/SYPBhEvhe8

— Swami Prasad Maurya (@SwamiPMaurya) February 13, 2024

Maurya has been in the spotlight for some time for making controversial remarks on the 'Sanatan Dharma', Hindutva and Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya. His controversial statement on the Ramcharitmanas was met with strong opposition from within and outside the party.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led party later distanced itself from Maurya's statement and asked him to refrain from making such controversial remarks that hurt the religious sentiments of people.  

He also recently said that ''Hinduism is not a religion but just a deception.'' In a video shared by news agency ANI, the Samajwadi Party leader cited RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's past remarks highlighting that ''there is no religion called Hinduism but instead, it is a way of living.''