# SP MLA, Congress MP spar over speaking time in Saharanpur 2026-08-19T16:01:27+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Samajwadi Party MLA Ashu Malik and Congress MP Imran Masood clashed over speaking time during a Disha meeting in Saharanpur on August 18, with a video of their heated exchange going viral. The incident has drawn attention as the SP and Congress explore a possible alliance for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly election. Malik said 80 per cent of the questions he raised were from the public, and he objected when Masood asked him to let other members speak. Masood, who chairs the meeting, said it was his responsibility to give everyone a chance. Both later downplayed the incident, calling it a discussion over meeting rules. BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari shared the video on social media, describing it as a fight between Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav's parties. Malik said the exchange should not be given too much importance and that there was no question of the alliance being affected. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Disha committee is a statutory body chaired by the local MP that reviews central scheme implementation. While a spat between alliance partners is not unusual, this incident comes as SP and Congress negotiate seat-sharing for the 2027 UP polls. Past alliances in the state have frayed over similar public disagreements. The key signal to watch is whether either party's leadership issues a formal statement on the incident, which would indicate the alliance is under strain. If both remain silent, it is likely being treated as routine political theatre. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in Straight news agency style with no discernible slant, reports both sides equally. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Ashu Malik, Imran Masood, Indian National Congress, Saharanpur, Samajwadi Party, Uttar Pradesh Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sp-mla-congress-mp-spar-over-speaking-time-in-saharanpur/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sp-mla-congress-mp-spar-over-speaking-time-in-saharanpur/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/