SP leaders spar over Modi's dig at party

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SP leaders spar over Modi's dig at party

Sanjay Pandey, Lucknow, Oct 27, 2013, DHNS:

Samajwadi party general secretary Naresh Agarwal's remarks over the
BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's speech at Jhansi rally
recently, threatened to boil into a major controversy within the party
after it turned into an ugly spat between Agarwal and another senior
party leader.

On Sunday, Agarwal sought to challenge SP spokesperson Rajendra
Chaudhary's authority, who had criticised him for the remarks.

"Rajendra Chaudhary ki kya haisiyat hai mere upar bolne ki...jo bhi
bolna hoga woh netaji bolenge" (Rajendra Chaudhary is no one to
comment on me. Only Mulayam Singh Yadav can tell me what to say and
what not), Agarwal said.

On Saturday, Chaudhary had said that Agarwal was not the official
spokesman of the party and that whatever he had said was his personal
opinion and not the views of SP.

"We have made it very clear that we will not tolerate indiscipline
under any circumstances," he had said.

Agarwal's remarks had also irked the women activists, who had sharply
criticised the remarks and sought action against Agarwal.

In a letter to the UP State Commission for Women, Zareena, social
activist Urvashi Sharma asked her to take cognisance of sarcasm and
use of 'derogatory' words showing utter disrespect towards the widow
community by Agarwal and 'get him punished according to law of the
land'.

Agarwal had reportedly said, while commenting on Modi's remarks that
SP is a parivaarvadi (family) party, that Modi could not be expected
to know about the family as in 'BJP, marriage is not a tradition'.

"There is a saying in the villages, if one goes to seek blessings of a
widow, she wishes that he also becomes like her," Agarwal had
reportedly said.

"Modi should speak on important issues like Indo-Pak relations,
inflation and other similar issues. But Modi does not do so as he does
not have any knowledge about them," Agarwal had said.