Akhilesh-led Samajwadi Party pushes Amar Singh to back seat in Rajya Sabha

NEW Delhi: Weeks after wresting control of Samajwadi Party from Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav has engineered relocation of his father’s loyalists Amar Singh and Beni Prasad Verma in the Rajya Sabha to the last row, inferring downgrading of their status in the House.

Amar Singh, who was seen as the main cause of rift between Akhilesh and Mulayam that finally led to a split in the party, had earlier been allocated seat number 136 in the third row of the Upper House.

Now, his seat has been relocated to seat number 174 in the last row, following the request from SP’s Chief Whip in the House Naresh Agrawal.

Along with Singh, Verma has also been moved to the last row.

When contacted, Agrawal told PTI that seats of these two MPs have been changed as they were not regular in the House.

“Both these MPs were not regular. So their seats have been changed and in their place, those MPs who are regular have been moved to the front rows,” he added.

The seats of Singh and Verma have been interchanged with Sanjay Seth and Surendra Singh Nagar, who have been moved to the front rows.

Akhilesh wrested control of Samajwadi Party last month after a bitter power struggle with his father.
PTI