Samajwadi Party meeting, Akhilesh Yadav accused uncle Shivpal of working against him
Highlights
- Samajwadi Party sees angry exchanges between first family
- President Mulayam says son Akhilesh will remain Chief Minister
- Akhilesh says uncle Shivpal working against him, Shivpal retorts "liar"
Mulayam Singh Yadav's tight-rope act this morning included asserting that son Akhilesh will not be removed as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, while praising younger brother Shivpal, who, he said, was owed a hug. The jury is still out on whether the balance he sought was accomplished - all parties have said they are injured after a meeting where the dirty laundry of the Yadavs was strung out in serial speeches.
Mulayam Singh, 76, is trying to keep his party from splitting ahead of the state election. "Instead of opponents, we are fighting internally," he said, audienced by all members of his Samajwadi Party. "Akhilesh will not be removed," he said, while adding, "I will not leave Shivpal or Amar Singh". While the former is Mulayam Singh's younger brother, the latter was forced out of the party in 2010 and returned five months ago. "All Amar Singh's sins are forgiven," said Mulayam Singh.
Shivpal Yadav, known baiter of Akhilesh who, critics say, wants to be chief minister himself, was fired yesterday from the cabinet by his 43-year-old nephew for the second time in a month. On record, Akhilesh has said he has no intention of founding a rival party, and accepts his father as his boss and leader. However, he said today in an emotional speech, "I was hurt when I was removed," referring to Shivpal Yadav replacing him as president of the party in Uttar Pradesh, which meant that the authority for deciding candidates for the upcoming election was transferred away from the chief minister.
Akhilesh also declared that with his uncle working against him, "Nobody realizes what it is taking for me to handle governance. Will you be able to form the government this time?" he challenged his father. He also said that Shivpal has repeatedly insulted him for failing to consolidate the support of Muslims, a key vote bank for the party, and that Amar Singh, who is trusted by his father, has compared him to ruthless Mughal king Aurangzeb.
Shivpal Yadav snatched the mic from his nephew, while declaring him "a liar". He also alleged that at a private meeting, the chief minister said he will float his own party." For disbelievers, he offered, "I swear on Ganga-jal" (holy Ganga water).
Mulayam Singh, furious, then left the meeting.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)