Months ahead of Assembly polls, BSP dismisses lone MLA in Jharkhand

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The Jharkhand unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on July 29 dismissed its lone Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Kushwaha Shivpujan Mehta for alleged anti-party activities, a party leader said.

This comes just months ahead of the Legislative Assembly elections in the state.

Mehta has also been accused of neglecting his constituency, Hussainabad, in Palamu district, he said.

The legislator, however, denied the allegations and said he was yet to get any intimation in this regard.

"The party has dismissed Kushwaha Shivpujan Mehta for anti-party activities and indiscipline," BSP's Jharkhand in- charge Chhachu Ram told PTI.

Subal Das, the state unit chief of the BSP, said Mehta did not devote any time to his constituency, and "when people complained, he resorted to drama by resigning from the membership of the Assembly".

Mehta had on July 26 submitted his resignation to Speaker Dinesh Oraon, alleging that problems in his constituency have not been solved despite raising them in the Assembly multiple times in the last four-and-a-half years.

The Speaker had rejected his resignation, saying his decision to quit the House was taken in haste.

Das said that Kushwaha had not informed party's national president Mayawati or Chhachu Ram about his decision.

"The people of his constituency as well as the party workers were annoyed with Kushwaha as he had been maintaining distance from them. The party's state committee held a meeting recently and decided to dismiss him. A letter to this effect has been sent to him," Das insisted.

Kushwaha, on his part, said he had never indulged in anti-party activities.

"It is a malicious decision. I have not received any direction or letter (on dismissal) from the party. I have been visiting my assembly constituency regularly. I have never indulged in anti-party activities," he added.