SP chief whip in UP quits party post, slated to join rebels

Lucknow, Feb 27 (IANS) Yet another Samajwadi Party MLA has joined the rebel group. Manoj Pandey, the MLA from Rae Bareli, on Tuesday morning resigned from the post of chief whip of the SP legislature party without assigning any reason. Pandey is said to be ready to vote for the BJP and had skipped the Samajwadi Party meeting on Monday night.He had been upset over Swami Prasad Maurya’s statements against Sanatana Dharma and had even voiced his ire over the matter.More details are awaited.Earlier, Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh, who represents the Gauriganj Assembly seat in Amethi, cross-voted in favour of BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections.He said, “It is not against any party. It is a voice of conscience,” and went on to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.Another SP MLA Abhay Singh was also seen with him.–IANSamita/dpb