Akhilesh, Shivpal head for showdown

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle and Samajwadi Party (SP) state unit president Shivpal Singh Yadav appeared to be heading for another political showdown.

Shivpal on Wednesday asserted his authority by expelling minister Tejnarain Pandey alias Pawan Pandey, an Akhilesh loyalist, on charges of indiscipline and wrote to the chief minister to sack him from the Cabinet immediately.

Accusation

Pandey was expelled after he was accused of assaulting senior SP leader Ashu Malik, a Mulayam loyalist, during the party meeting here on Monday.

Malik was in the centre of a controversy over the publication of a new item in an English daily here a few days back in which Akhilesh was termed as Aurangzeb (the Mughal emperor, who imprisoned father Shah Jahan at Agra fort for opposing his ascendancy to the throne).
Though Pandey denied having assaulted Malik, an FIR was registered against him.

Acting swiftly, Shivpal expelled Pandey from the party for six years. Sources said that Mulayam had also admonished Pandey for the assault.

Shivpal also wrote to the chief minister asking him to sack Pandey forthwith.

Akhilesh, however, was yet to oblige Shivpal and Pandey continues to be in the Cabinet, earning him a rare distinction of being a minister, who was not even a primary member of the party.

Earlier, Shivpal had expelled several SP youth wing leaders, who had shouted slogans in favour of Akhilesh when the family crisis erupted in September.

Akhilesh also indicated that Shivpal and his three supporters, who were sacked from the ministry on Sunday, were not likely to be reinstated.