Shivpal and Akhilesh Yadav parted ways in 2017 after which the former formed his own party. (File)
In an apparent attack against Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, socialist leader Shivpal Singh Yadav on Tuesday said he had compromised his self-respect to "satisfy" his nephew but only got "pain" in return.
"We taught him how to walk and he went on trampling us," the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSPL) chief said amid reports of a rift with Akhilesh Yadav.
"I tried to satisfy him by going down to the bottom point of self-respect!. Despite this, if I am angry...to what extent he must have inflicted pain on my heart!" the socialist leader tweeted.
Shivpal Singh Yadav had formed an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls at the behest of party patriarch, Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Both leaders had parted ways ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls, after which Shivpal Singh Yadav formed his own party.
The differences between both leaders resurfaced when Shivpal Singh Yadav was not invited for a meeting of SP MLAs in March.
Feeling slighted, the PSPL leader delayed taking oath as legislator.
After taking oath, Shivpal Yadav met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, triggering speculations of his possible crossover to the BJP.
The conjecture further got currency when he started following Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adityanath on their Twitter accounts.
Akhilesh Yadav has taken a swipe at his uncle on several occasions on reports of his growing proximity with the BJP.
On one occasion, he categorically said that those close to the BJP had no place in the Samajwadi Party, an apparent message to his uncle.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)