Mulayam Singh Yadav brokered truce between his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today rebuked the supporters of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and state Cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav for taking to the streets over a dispute involving the two.
"I will not let this happen in the party. I have worked hard to bring it to this position. This 'tamasha' (circus) will not be allowed," he, according to sources, told the party workers.
As soon as Mulayam Singh Yadav arrived at the party office, he was surrounded by party workers as well as the media. The Samajwadi Party president directly went to the auditorium where the supporters of his son Akhilesh were shouting slogans, demanding that he be reinstated as the party's state unit president.
Mulayam Singh Yadav defended his decision of replacing Akhilesh Yadav with Shivpal Yadav as the Uttar Pradesh party chief, saying the latter worked "shoulder-to-shoulder" with him to bring the party to its current position.
The Samajwadi Party chief also lashed out at the chiefs of the party's front organisations --Lohia Vahani, Mulayam Singh Yadav Youth Brigade, Chhatra Sabha and Yuvjan Sabha -- and asked them not to indulge in such protests and instead, work "on the ground" to strengthen the party.
"We have been asked to work at the booth-level to strengthen the party. Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) told us that while the BJP was actively working in the state, we were involved in staging protests and asked us to shun such activities," a leader of youth wing told Press Trust of India.
Earlier, Mulayam Singh Yadav Youth Brigade president Mohd Aibad said, "We have conveyed our feelings to Netaji that we (all the youth front organisations) will not be able to work with anyone except Akhilesh. We want him back as the party's state president. The youth is feeling dejected after his removal. They are depressed and even ready to immolate themselves for him (Akhilesh)."
Members of Legislative Council Rajpal Kashyap, Anand Bhadauria and Sunil Singh Sajan, all of whom had, in the past, held posts in the Samajwadi Party's front organisations, were also seen raising slogans in Akhilesh Yadav's favour.