In a veiled criticism of the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, the minority affairs and urban development minister Azam Khan said the young leaders of the party should behave and let the party leadership to salvage the situation.
"Ham naadano se kahnaa chaahate hain ki aur naadani naa karene’ (I want to tell the immature young leaders to behave and refrain from irresponsible behavior) The party’s leadership is doing its best to salvage the situation following the crisis caused in the party after the sacking of the ministers, MlCs and expulsions of the several youth leaders of the party’’, said Azam Khan in Rampur on Friday.
"I appeal to all ignorant ones not to do anything which might further complicate the matter and aggravate the crisis and situation goes out of hand. We are trying hard to make things better’’, said Azam Khan.
"Only I, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav are alive today who founded the Samajwadi party and from scratch brought the party to this level. All leaders and co founders of the party are no longer alive today. Others cannot feel the pain of what is happening in the party these days. I feel the pain’’, said Azam Khan adding `` I know how painful it is to expel somebody from the party and also to face accusations from those who were our own till the other day’’.
Azam Khan also said that `` Mulayam Singh party ke malik hai ( Mulayam Singh Yadav is the supreme leader of the party and his decision is final) .
Interestingly Azam Khan did not name the state president of the party Shivpal Yadav. Azam Khan has distanced himself from the state president following his proximity with the Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh.