Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav would skip the flag off ceremony of the Samajwadi Vikas Yatra by the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav here on Thursday.
Rajya Sabha MP and vice president of the Samajwadi Party Kironmoy Nanda said here on Wednesday that Mulayam Singh Yadav will not be present during the flag off of the Yatra of the chief minister. Nanda arrived here on Wednesdayalong with Mulayam Singh from Delhi.
“The rath yatra is about the showcasing the achievements of the government during the last nearly five years and its strictly a event covering the state f UP only , so there is no need for the national president of the party to be present in a state level programme,” said Kironmoy Nanda.
”Netaji had already flagged off the Mulayam Sandesh Yatra on September 10 last which has completed its two phases to campaign for the party in view of the coming assembly elections,” he stated.
“Netaji had in the past flagged off the yatras of Akhilesh in 2001-02 and then on 2011-12 so now there is no such need to do it again this time also,” argued Nanda.
Defending that the decision of Mulayam Singh Yadav to stay away from the flag off ceremony of the Rath Yatra , SP vice president said ``its not obligatory for the national president of the party to attend a state level programme’’. Nanda, a close confidant of both Mulayam Singh and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. He said the Rath yatra of Akhilesh Yadav would be an historic event in the history of UP.
Samajwadi Party sources said that the likely presence of the expelled SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav and five expelled MlCs on the occasion forced Mulayam Singh to stay away from the event.
“Ram Gopal Yadav and five MlCs – known as members of the `team Akhilesh’ were expelled from the party by Shivpal Yadav on the direction of SP supremo, so how can Mulayam Singh Yadav be present at a place where the expelled leaders are seen rubbing shoulders with his son Akhilesh Yadav’’, said a SP leader adding `` presence of Mulayam Singh will not only be interpreted as `erosion of his authority’ but also a national president, himself is a party to an event which is an stark example of indiscipline’’. The SP sources also said that the presence of Ram Gopal Yadav in lucknow and at the flag off ceremony is highly unlikely.
Four MlCs of the SP were expelled from the party in September after they had staged protest demonstration in front of the residence of the SP supremo demanding the reinstatement of Akhilesh Yadav as the state president of the party while the fifth MlC Udayvir Singh was expelled from the party asking Mulayam Singh to step down and appoint Akhilesh s the national president of the party. Ram Gopal Yadav was expelled from the party on October 24 after he wrote a nasty open letter to party cadres where he had raised question on the integrity of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
UP minister Rajendra Chowdhary , a close confidant of Akhilesh, said that the rath yatra of the chief minister has the blessings of Mulayam Singh but he refused to comment whether SP supremo will falg off the yatra or not. A senior party functionary said here that Netaji has refused to join any function in which Ram Gopal Yadav would be present.
Ram Gopal Yadav, in Etawah had recently announced to attend the Rath Yatra programme in lucknow on November 3and will support Akhilesh for his second term as the chief minister of UP.
The bickering within the first family was open even after some conciliation when Mulayam refused to attend the Yash Bharati awards even after his name was printed in invitation as the chief guest of the event.
Chief Minister Akhilesh refused to remove a minister Pawan Pandey from the council of ministers after he was expelled from the party for assaulting a SP MlC Ashu Malik, who is close to Mulayam.