Lucknow: Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav on Monday demanded that party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav take over as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, in another twist to the warring within the state’s ruling Samajwadi Party family.
“He (Mulayam Singh) should take over as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,” Shivpal Singh said while addressing party workers here, a day after he was sacked as minister by his nephew, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
He also refuted the claims of Akhilesh Yadav who had denied that he will form a new party. “Akhilesh Yadav had told me that he will form another party. He said it, he said it to me,” Shivpal Yadav said.
Slamming Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal said, “Don’t I have any contribution in this government? Netaji (Mulayam Singh) appreciated my work. The department under me performed well. But what happened… I was sacked? When I was made state president, did I work any less than Akhilesh?” he asked.
He also hailed party supremo Mulayam Singh and said that he had become an alternate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Netaji you had become an alternate to Modi. Who let you down?” he asked.
Shivpal Singh also warned the party leaders of action and said, “Indiscipline will not be tolerated in this party. This party has reached such heights only because of Netaji,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, Shivpal launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and accused him of trying to form a new party or enter into an alliance with another party. “We have been beaten by police, have been to jail, pedalled cycles for hundreds of km to bring the party to this situation,” he said.
Questioning the Chief Minister’s statement that he was not forming another party, Shivpal Singh said the Chief Minister had in fact told him in a close door meeting that he will form another party. Shivpal even went on to say that he was ready to swear by the holy Gangajal on this issue.
The senior SP leader also strongly defended Amar Singh and said that in 2003, the SP government in Uttar Pradesh was because of the efforts of the Thakur leader.
When some leaders started shouting anti-Amar Singh slogans, Shivpal scolded them and said that “You are not even an inch of what Amar Singh is”. “Tum Amar Singh ke pair ki dhool ke baraabar bhi nahin hoh,” he said.
The former minister also said that time had come for SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to take over the state government and lead the party in the forthcoming state assembly elections.
