LUCKNOW: Sumaiya Rana, daughter of popular Urdu poet Munawwar Rana, joined Samajwadi Party on Tuesday in the presence of party president Akhilesh Yadav.
Saumaiya had earlier made headlines during the protests against the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) in Lucknow during which police cases were lodged against her.
Welcoming Sumaiya into the party fold, Akhilesh Yadav attacked the ruling BJP for using police cases to muzzle dissent no matter how democratic and qualified it is. “When SP will come to power in the state, the government will withdraw all such cases lodged against those associated with anti-CAA protests,” Akhilesh said.
Sumaiya had emerged as a face of the anti-CAA protest at the iconic Ghantaghar (clock tower) in Old City area of Lucknow. She was booked for violation of prohibitory orders at the protest site and was also put under 'house arrest' during crackdown by the police against the torchbearers of the agitation against the Citizenship law. Later, attending an event on CAA at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) she described police case against her as a badge of honor. Her father Munauwar Rana, an internationally acclaimed poet, has also been against the CAA and often made headlines for his bold stance on contentious issues like Babri Masjid case and policies of the governments at the Centre and in the state.
Apart from Sumaiya, former MLAs Ramesh Gautam and Masood Khan also joined the SP. They were recently suspended and then expelled by the Bahujan Samaj Party apparently after the leadership learnt about their plans to join the SP.