Lucknow, May 10: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati today suspended her outfit's minority face over allegations of taking money from people seeking election nominations, showing the door to a man who was seen as her most trusted lieutenant.

Nasimuddin Siddiqui was part of the BSP since the time of its founder - Mayawati's mentor Kanshi Ram.

Mayawati also suspended Nasimuddin's son Afzal over similar allegations, apart from the charge of "anti-party activities" against both.

Party general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra announced the suspension of the veteran, who had won Kanshi Ram's confidence by turning himself into a human shield to protect the Dalit leader.

That was in the early 1980s when some rival party activists had started throwing stones at Kanshi Ram in Banda district.

"There were allegations that Nasimuddin and his son took money from BSP ticket seekers before the February-March Assembly elections. He collected money from the candidates in the name of our leader. He was summoned yesterday to clarify his stand. Instead, he kept diverting the issue during a conversation on the phone and didn't come to the party office to explain his position," Mishra said.

"He has been removed from all posts and suspended from the primary membership of the party. His son has also been removed from the party because of similar allegations."

Mishra also alleged that Nasimuddin had benami (proxy) property in west Uttar Pradesh and ran illegal slaughterhouses in the region.

Nasimuddin, who was national general secretary and Lucknow coordinator of the BSP, had recently been given additional charge of Madhya Pradesh. "But instead of visiting Madhya Pradesh and doing his job, Nasimuddin was camping in Noida and Delhi and trying to malign our leader," Mishra said.

Nasimuddin, who stands to lose his legislative council seat, hit back at his former chief, saying he would soon "expose Mayawati".

"I have been suspended because of some money-related dispute. I would soon provide proof of financial corruption against Mayawati," he told reporters.

He also issued a news release that said: "I worked tirelessly for the party for 35 years. But Behenji (Mayawati) had started speaking against the Muslims because of the BSP's defeat in (the) Assembly elections."

BSP sources said Nasimuddin used to once sit on the floor in Mayawati's chamber because of his regard for her and single-handedly tried to woo Muslim voters. But he failed miserably this time as the BSP won only 19 of the 403 seats in the recent Assembly polls and lost where he campaigned.

Observers said that Nasimuddin, till now seen as a keeper of party secrets, may be in a position to damage the BSP boss's future political prospects. The suspended leader seems to have already activated his hit-back, as three BSP coordinators resigned from the party within an hour of Mayawati's action against Nasimuddin and his son.

In their resignation letters, Nasim Siddiqui, Shoeb Khan and Jazbi Anwar said they would protest against their leader's suspension.

Some BSP leaders believe that Mayawati decided to get rid of Nasimuddin because the BJP-led government in the state and at the Centre were in the process of instituting a high-level probe into alleged financial embezzlement in the construction of Dalit parks and memorials in Lucknow and Noida.

The constructions took place between 2007 and 2012 when Mayawati was chief minister and Nasimuddin was the minister for public works.

Other party leaders claimed "the overambitious Nasimuddin" had stopped speaking to Mayawati ever since she appointed her brother Anand Kumar as the party's vice-president on April 14. "This was seen as a rebellion and he was suspended," said a senior BSP leader who asked not to be named.