The tussle between the two warring factions of Samajwadi Party over taking control of the party office touched a nadir on Monday, when three loyalists of Shivpal Singh Yadav were refused entry inside the office by the security.
“The police stopped us from entering the party office on Monday. It is an insult to us. We have served the party and even went to jail several times for the cause of Socialist movement,” said SP general secretary and spokesperson Deepak Mishra on Monday.
The SP leader said that it was shocking to see the gates being closed at their face. “We faced the tyranny of Mayawati’s regime so that the SP could come to power. No one can raise a finger at us for misusing power,” Mishra said
The three leaders - Raghunand Singh ‘ Kaka’, Chaudhury Rakshpal and Deepak Mishra went to the SP headquarters as usual around mid-day but were stopped at the gate. There were a heated exchange between the security staff and the leaders but they were told by the police that they were asked not to let anyone in.
later, the leaders staged a dharna in front of the office to protest the act ofthe cops and raised slogans in favour of Mukayam Singh and Shivpal Yadav.
Maintaining that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav could not do such a undemocratic act, Mishra in a statement said that the concerned policemen should be taught a lesson and be suspended immediately.
Mishra also attacked senior SP leader and Rajya Sabha members Kironmay Nanda and Naresh Agarwal, charging that both had gone against their leader Mulayam Singh Yadav which shows their opportunistic mindset.
“What can you say about a leader who has a history of party hopping and now the same man is lecturing us on Samajwad,” Mishra commented talking about Agarwal.
Earlier in the morning, some staff of the SP headquarters were asked to go early but no reason was assigned. They were told to sign the attendance register and go home. An employee said that probably the issue would be resolved once Mulayam Singh Yadav returns to lucknow.
On Saturday last, Yadav Senior had put pad locks on his room and got the whole action videotaped before leaving for Delhi. last week, newly appointed state SP chief Naresh Uttam had taken control of the state president’s room and removed the pictures and name plate of Shivpal Singh Yadav.