Mulayam opts for Shivpal for Diwali puja
SP patriarch skips Akhilesh event, asks govt to focus on UP villages
Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, once again, left his party leaders foxed when he chose to celebrate Diwali with his younger brother Shivpal Yadav and did not join in the celebrations with his son Akhilesh Yadav.
Mr Mulayam Singh, on Wednesday evening, visited the new bungalow at 6 Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, allotted to Mr Shivpal Yadav, and took part in the Diwali puja along with his wife Sadhana Yadav and younger son Prateek Yadav and daughter- in- law Aparna Yadav.
Mr Akhilesh Yadav did not join the family and neither did Mr Mulayam Singh visit his son’s home.
The Yadav clan, as a tradition, has been celebrating important festivals like Holi and Diwali in their native village Sefai.
This is the first time that the Yadav leaders have chosen to remain in Lucknow.
Talking to reporters, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav did not make any political statement but said, “Diwali is celebrated with greater fervour in rural areas compared to urban areas. The government should also pay greater attention to development in villages.”
Mr Shivpal Yadav, obviously delighted at the development, told reporters that, “This is the first Diwali of the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party ( PSP) and also my first Diwali in this new house. Netaji ( Mulayam) performed puja in this house and gave me his blessings.”