Cong MLA defies party line, attends special UP assembly session

Shahira Naim, Lucknow
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, October 3

In a major setback to the Congress in the bastion of party president Sonia Gandhi, Rae Bareli (Sadar) MLA Aditi Singh defied the party line on Wednesday to attend the special session of the assembly to mark the 150 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Speaking to reporters after attending the marathon 36-hour session Singh said she had done what she felt was correct as had been taught by her late father Akhilesh Singh. In doing so, Singh defied the opposition bycott of the special session. 

Akhilesh had represented the same constituency for a record 5 times, thrice on the Congress ticket, once as an independent and once as a Peace Party candidate. On August 20, 2019 he succumbed to cancer.

Defending her decision to speak during the special session Aditi said she did not want to miss the chance to highlight the issues of her constituency.

Singh said she had even come out in support of PM Modi government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 as she thought it was the right decision at the right time.

When asked if she had deviated from the party line she said, “I rose above party line and tried to speak on development... This is my first and foremost priority”.

Responding to a question about what if the Congress takes action against her she said, “It’s the party’s call”.

Sources in the Congress said that as no written instruction had been issued at the time and, the party is still considering how to deal with this situation.

Interestingly, Aditi Singh had stayed away from Congress general secretary Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra’s silent ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ earlier in the day.

She had also not participated in the Nyay Yatra from Shahajahanpur to Lucknow on September 30 to demand justice for the Shahjahanpur rape survivor in which a large number of senior Congress leaders had been detained.

In August, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had visited Rae Bareli to offer condolences to Aditi Singh and her family at the passing of her father.

Earlier, on May 15 she had air-dashed to Rae Bareli   to meet and express solidarity with Aditi Singh and members of the zila panchayat who had been injured in a murderous attack on them on Tuesday.