Uttarakhand News: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday expelled senior party leader and former MLA Suresh Rathore from the party for a period of six years. The decision follows his public announcement of a second marriage, in direct violation of Uttarakhand's recently implemented Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which classifies second marriages while the first spouse is still legally wedded as a criminal offence.
Rathore, a former MLA from Jwalapur and the former state president of the BJP’s Scheduled Caste wing, was earlier served a notice by the party seeking a clarification. However, after he failed to offer a satisfactory response, the BJP took strong disciplinary action, citing damage to the party’s image.
Relationship With Actress Triggers Controversy
The controversy stems from Rathore’s relationship with actress Urmila Sanawar, with whom he had been involved in a long-standing legal dispute. Both individuals had filed complaints against each other in the past. However, in a surprising turn of events, the former legislator recently married Sanawar in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, while still being legally married to his first wife.
A video of the wedding went viral on social media, drawing sharp criticism from both the public and political opponents, and putting the party and the state government on the defensive.
BJP Cites Indiscipline and Tarnished Reputation
Under instructions from BJP Uttarakhand President Mahendra Bhatt, party General Secretary Rajendra Bisht issued Rathore a show-cause notice last week, giving him seven days to explain his actions. The notice stated that "his continued inappropriate behaviour, reported widely across media and social platforms, has brought disrepute to the party and amounts to serious indiscipline."
With no satisfactory explanation forthcoming, the party has now formally expelled Suresh Rathore for six years, reinforcing its commitment to upholding internal discipline and the rule of law under the UCC.