Mayawati suspends BSP MLA Rama Bai for supporting Citizenship law

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati, who has been a vocal critic of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, on Sunday (December 28) suspended party MLA Rama Bai for supporting the contentious new legislation.

Rama Bai, who represents the Patheriya Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district, on Saturday evening supported the law at a function held in her constituency where Union minister Prahlad Patel was present.

2. जबकि BSP ने सबसे पहले इसे विभाजनकारी व असंवैधानिक बताकर इसका तीव्र विरोध किया, संसद में भी इसके विरूद्ध वोट दिया तथा इसकी वापसी को भी लेकर मा राष्ट्रपति को ज्ञापन दिया। फिर भी विधायक परिहार ने CAA का समर्थन किया। पहले भी उन्हें कई बार पार्टी लाइन पर चलने की चेतवानी दी गई थी।

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) December 29, 2019

In a tweet in Hindi, the BSP supremo on Sunday said, “The BSP is a disciplined party and it takes prompt action against its MP and MLAs who break discipline. Taking this into account, the party suspends Madhya Pradesh’s Patheriya MLA Rama Bai Parihar for supporting the CAA. She has been banned from taking part in the party functions,” She said the MLA was warned to follow the party lines even in the past.

After Rama Bai supported the new law during a function in Patheriya on Saturday evening, Union minister Prahlad Patel, who was present at the event, lauded her.

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The BSP earlier dubbed the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act as “unconstitutional” and voted against it in Parliament. It also urged the President to withdraw the new law.

The new law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees who came to India before December 31, 2014, to escape religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

(With inputs from agencies)