Shivpal ‘urges’ Akhilesh to hand over SP reins to MSY
KANPUR: A disgruntled Shivpal Yadav asked former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to hand over the reins of Samajwadi Party (SP) to Mulayam Singh Yadav and reunite the party as well as family. Yadav, who maintained that he would float his Samajwadi Secular Morcha, said he has requested Akhilesh Yadav to make ‘Netaji’ president once again.
He admitted the party had grown weak due to sacking of leaders and it was one of the major reasons behind the SP getting just 47 seats in this assembly election as compared to 230 in 2012 polls. “If we had fought the election together then the results would have been different,” he told reporters in Kanpur where he came to attend a marriage ceremony. The work on the plan to float the morcha, he said, was going on and ‘Netaji’ would be its president. “Netaji has given his consent. I have spoken to him today, I spoke to him yesterday. He is ready,” Yadav said.
When asked about Mulayam Singh Yadav saying that he made a mistake by making Akhilesh Yadav chief minister, he said the question should be asked to Netaji. He also ducked questions about the sacking of his confidantes from the party. When asked if Samajwadi Party (SP) was heading for a split, Yadav said he did not know. “I am just saying people should get social justice,” he said, adding further, “I am appealing to all the Samajwadis to stay united.