The development comes barely hours after Mulayam Singh Yadav managed strike a truce between his son Akhilesh Yadav, and his brother Shivpal Yadav. “There are some people who take advantage of Netaji’s simplicity, and these people don’t have the party’s well being in mind”, Ram Gopal told the media.
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Toeing a similar line, Ram Gopal Yadav, national general secretary of the Samajwadi Party, said all is well within the party. “It is hoped that with your hard work, you will further strengthen the party”. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who had been taking it lying down for four-and-a-half years, has finally mustered up courage to rise to the occasion and tell his overbearing chacha Shivpal Yadav that enough is enough. In any case, it is the end of our tenure and I have fulfilled my responsibilities as a Cabinet Minister. While Shivpal and Akhilesh are often seen to be at loggerheads, Ramgopal is said to be in the Akhilesh camp, much like the other younger members of the family. “Everyone can not be Akhilesh or Mulayam”. However, Mulayam reportedly refused to accept the resignation, sources said. If I have taken any decision, it is on his directive.
Akhilesh also removed Chief Secretary Deepak Singhal, who was also known to be close to Shivpal Yadav, on Tuesday.
His word was law, and willy-nilly the rank and file fell in line once he made his choice clear – whether it was the question of tying up with Kalyan Singh, which incidentally cost him dearly, or appointing Akhilesh as the chief minister superseding Shivpal and Azam Khan in 2012.
Apparently pointing to Amar Singh’s comment on Wednesday that he is not a “Samajwadi” but a “Mulayamwadi”, Ramgopal said, “There is nothing like mulayamwadi…”
Sources said Akhilesh rejected Shivpal’s resignation from the cabinet, but the party had made no decision yet on his offer to quit as its state chief.
The senior BJP leader expressed hope that the BJP will win the elections hands down with a majority, as the people of Uttar Pradesh are fed up with “lawlessness” in the State.
Ever since he anointed his son Akhilesh as the CM and thus political heir in 2012, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has been balancing the demands of his brother Shivlal Yadav.
In an indirect reference to Amar Singh, he said: “It is impossible to run the party if outsiders interfere”.
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He also suggested that Amar Singh was the person who got Shivpal Yadav appointed as “in-charge” of the state some months ago in a bid to destabilise the Chief Minister.
