Mulayam should become UP chief minister, Shivpal urges

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.
At a meeting in Lucknow today, both Akhilesh and Shivpal emotionally stated their cases before party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
In an oblique reference to sacked leader Ram Gopal Yadav , Shivpal swore on ‘Gangajal’ that chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had told him he would split the party and chart out on his own. “Main kasam kha ke kehta hoon hoon ki inhone mujhe kahan ye alag dal banayenge.” (I swear that he told me he will form a separate political party)
Shivpal, visibly upset over the humiliation of the last few weeks that he had faced in the Sparty, said, “Kya mera yogdaan nahi hai Samajwadi party mein?” Jab Akhilesh adhyaksh bane, maine public mein support kiya. Aur mere saath kya hua? Jis din aadesh hua, mere saare vibhaag le liye jaate hain? Kya maine CM Akhilesh Yadav se kam kaam kiya tha? Maine har aadesh CM ka maana, Netaji ja bhi.” (Is my contribution to the SP any less? When Akhilesh was appointed SP state president, I supported him. But when I was appointed, he took away my departments. Did I work any less than Akhilesh? I listened to everything the CM said, as well as what Netaji said.)
Shivpal, who insisted on Monday that the indisciplined would not be allowed to continue in the party, added that he remained in contact with controversial MP Amar Singh – believed to be one of the key triggers of the on-going family feud.
“Yes I have been in touch with Amar Singh. But I have never hidden that I met him,” he said. “Tum log to unke pairon ki dhool ke layak bhi nahi ho.”
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav made an emotional appeal to father and SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying he was everything as a result of what the SP chief had given to him.
Choking on his words many times during his 12-minute speech, Akhilesh said, “I have reached these heights in my political career because of you. But I will not allow anyone to conspire against you.”
In a public appeal made at a time when closed door, drawing room meetings appear to have yielded no results, the Samajwadi Party feud tumbled out on the public platform when Akhilesh said he had done everything to live up to the ideal taught by Mulayam.
The CM also said that he was well aware of criticism from within the party, but had ploughed on, undeterred, because he did not intend to allow those who were conspiring to weaken Mulayam and the Samajwadi Party, to have their way. “If I find that people are conspiring against you, I will take action,” he said.
Emphasising he had been a dutiful son – he had reinstated minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and bureaucrat Deepak Singhal despite their dishonesty when Mulayam had asked him to - Akhilesh also said he was hurt when he heard the party chief wanted him dismissed as chief minister. “I have no stakes in this party. This party is yours. Everything I have is given to me by you. But I will not allow anyone to act against you,” Akhilesh said.
(You all are not worth the dust at his feet.)