Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday resigned as general secretary of the Samajwadi Party, accusing SP president Akhilesh Yadav of treating him indifferently.

Maurya posted his resignation letter on X and said he would continue to work for the SP without any post.

Taking credit for the victory of 110 SP candidates in the 2022 Assembly elections against 45 in 2017, Maurya thanked Akhilesh for sending him to the Legislative Council and appointing him the party’s general secretary. However, he claimed that the SP president was not listening to his suggestions.

“I had suggested to you in January-February 2023 to take out a Rath Yatra in support of a caste census, to protect the reservation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backwards, against increasing unemployment, problems of farmers, to save democracy and against the government’s exercise to sell public properties to the corporate. You had told me that the Yatra would start after Holi but I didn’t get any positive response from you thereafter,” Maurya said in his resignation letter written in Hindi and addressed to Akhilesh.

Holi falls on March 23 this year but the SP has not announced any such yatra.

“I tried in my own way to increase the mass base of the party. I tried to bring back the tribals, Dalits and backwards who were unknowingly trapped by the BJP. I reminded them of their honour. But some small and big leaders of the party dubbed my statements my personal remarks,” said Maurya.

“I attacked hypocrisy and religious pageantry. They (some SP leaders) again targeted me but I continued to connect the people with the SP and encouraged them to believe in science,” he wrote.

“It is unfortunate that the senior-most leader of the party remained silent when some leaders said that whatever I was saying was my personal view. How does it happen that some other general secretary’s statement becomes the party’s view but my words are disowned by the party?” he said adding: “If there is such a dichotomy then there is no point to stay on the post of general secretary. I will work for the party without any post.”

Since Maurya has not resigned from the SP, he will remain an MLC.