Politics most difficult job, says CM while feting ‘veteran’ MLAs

LUCKNOW: It was a journey down the memory lane for 10 veteran MLAs when the state Vidhan Sabha honoured them for completing 25 years as legislators, here on Wednesday.

Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav also appeared a bit emotional saying destiny took him to the position of head of government in UP, where the politics was most difficult.

“As MP, I always thought politics is very simple. But I have realised there is nothing more difficult than this. I often feel, it is all destiny. All of you too have undertaken this difficult journey,” said the chief minister.

Yadav also used the occasion to assert that change was a continuous process and this time (in 2017 assembly elections) the change would take place for t he good and bring his government back to power in the state.

As Akhilesh honoured them one after the other with a shawl and a memento most of the members were full of tears.

In a choked voice, speaker Mata Prasad Pandey thanked Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for the milestone.

Minister for parliamentary affairs Azam Khan said the SP chief had almost decided to send Pandey to the Rajya Sabha.

As MP, I always thought politics is very simple. But I have realised there is nothing more difficult than this. I often feel, it is all destiny. All of you too have undertaken this difficult journey AKHILESH YADAV, chief minister

“But I convinced him against doing so as the Samajwadi Party did not have any other leader of Pandey’s calibre who could work as the Speaker,” said Khan while also lauding the SP chief.

BJP member Shyamdev Rai Chaudhary recollected how his father had asked him to always serve the people and not expect anything in return.

Others honoured on the occasion included Azam Khan, BJP legislature party leader Suresh Khanna, minister for home guards and Prantiya Raksha Dal Awadhesh Prasad, minister for forest Durga Prasad Yadav, minister of state for agriculture Rajiv Kumar Singh, minister for social welfare Ram Govind Chaudhary, BSP MLA Shyam Sunder Sharma and Narendra Singh Yadav of Samajwadi Party.

Speaking on the occasion, members thanked the people of their respective constituencies.