Told both father, son to unite against communal forces: ‘peacemaker’ Lalu

RJD CHIEF Lalu Prasad on Saturday claimed that he had been among the people who played peacemaker between Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav by calling up the Samajwadi Party patriarch and urging him to “stay united in an effort to root out communal forces”.

Lalu, who is a relative of Mulayam, said differences between the father and son would have given an opening to the “undeserving”, and blunted the secular forces in UP elections.

Talking to reporters in Patna, Lalu said he spoke with Mulayam on Saturday morning and urged him to sort out differences with Akhilesh.

He later tweeted: “Phoned Netaji at 8AM as I was worried. Urged him to call Akhilesh & not to lose almost certain win & avoid aaltu-faaltu ppl (useless people) and sycophants”.

Even though plans of a grand alliance including the SP before the Bihar elections fell through, the RJD chief has always backed Samajwadi Party.

With the family feud threatening to undo the ruling party in the upcoming UP Vidhan Sabha elections, Lalu said he asked Mulayam to “stay united in an effort to root out the communal forces”. He also tweeted “...It’s time to protect our rich pluralistic & secular heritage”.

The RJD chief also advised Akhilesh to sort out matters with hisfather.“asked@yadavakhilesh to go & see Netaji and sort out the matters patiently. Others shd nt take benefits out of any miscommunications & gaps”, he tweeted.

According to Lalu, the SP should also explore chances of forging an alliance to keep communal forces at bay in UP.

The RJD has decided not to contest the elections in UP and has announced that it would campaign for Mulayam.

His message to Mulayam: “Avoid aaltu-faaltu people and sycophants.”