Grappling with a situation over ties with Qaumi Ekta Dal, the Samajwadi Party sought to dispel the general refrain that the party brass was divided over the issue.
The occasion to demonstrate the bonhomie was the 70th birthday of top leader Ram Gopal Yadav and the release of a book penned by the leader.
However the laboured effort to showcase the intra-party unity was marred by the conscpicuous absence of its Muslim face and Minority Affairs Minister Azam Khan.
Recently elected to Rajya Sabha and known for being at loggerheads with Ram Gopal Yadav, Amar Singh led the 'unity campaign'.
“There is no discord within the party over the merger, alliance with any party or any other issue. The SP practices democratic freedom of expression. Revealing one's mind is not construed as a revolt. Ram Manohar lohia too had opposed his own Government," asserted Amar Singh.
The newly elected RS member added, "Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had bared his heart in the recent Parliamentary Board meet over the issue of QED merger.’’
"The SP leaders may be living and dining separately but they are united as a rock when faced with a crisis. We are united to take on the onslaught of communal forces in UP and the people will give a befitting reply to disruptive forces in the 2017 Assembly polls,’’ said Singh.
Seeking to blame the media for the nascent perception of discord, Singh said, "The myopic media only sees fight in the SP but prefers to look the other way when there is squabble in other parties in the country."
He explained, "The SP has the brain of Ram Gopal, face of Akhilesh and organisational skill of Shivpal. These rolled into one, makes Netaji (Mulayam) the strongest political leader of the country.’’
SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who presided over the function, cut a cake and released a book Sansad me meri baat' penned by Ram Gopal Yadav.
Yadav said that it was natural for a Socialist to criticise anything, but at the same time he also offers solution to the problem.
“The leaders made critical remark on the JNU incident in the past. But no one gave any remedial suggestion. It was only the SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav who criticised the incident and suggested that prevention of future recurrence," said Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav made a brief speech and appreciated the book written by Ram Gopal. He said that it was the responsibility of each one in the party to adopt Socialist ideology and lohia's thoughts.
Without taking names, the CM read out a popular film number 'Mohabaat me judai ka haq hai' (we have the right to separation in love).
State in-charge Shivpal Yadav hit out at the youth leaders of the SP, saying that the new generation was not following the Socialist ideologies.
"If we don't follow the path shown by lohia and other Socialist leaders, we will lose our fight against communalism," said Shivpal Yadav.
SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav criticised a private news channel for misquoting him in a programme. "Such misrepresentation of facts raise question mark over the creditability of media. I owe my existence in politics to Mulayam Singh Yadav," said Ram Gopal and thanked Shivpal for coming to the function by cancelling his scheduled visit to Varanasi.
