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If Akhilesh Yadav is to be believed, the hatchet in the Yadav family has now been buried.
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister on Saturday congratulated his uncle Shivpal Yadav for being named the state unit president of the party and said, “We are united, there is no rift in the party”.
“Congratulated the state party chief appointed by Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav)... Will support state party president Shivpal,” Akhilesh said in Lucknow, after meeting his uncle at his residence.
This comes after Akhilesh returned all of Shivpal’s departments on Saturday, barring Public Works Department (PWD), which he has kept to himself.
Shivpal Yadav is also set to continue as the Samajwadi Party State President, reported ANI.
On Friday, in a rather dramatic manner, Shivpal said:
Kal se sab apne apne kaam mein lag jaenge, parivar ek hai aur ek rahega. (Everybody will be back to work tomorrow. The family was and will always be together.)
All is Well?
Along with Shivpal Yadav’s previous departments (except PWD), medical, education and minor irrigation have also been given to him.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s office also clarified on Friday that all portfolios, which were previously taken away from Shivpal, will be given back to him.
This comes after a meeting with Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday. Shivpal further asserted that everything has been resolved after meeting the chief.
On questions about his role in the party now, Shivpal said:
If I get departments I will work on that, if I become Party Chief I will fulfill that responsibility. We have to work in a way so that SP wins 2017 polls and Akhilesh Yadav becomes CM again.
Mulayam Breaks His Silence
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday addressed party workers amid massive sloganeering and excitement. Mulayam has finally broken his silence on the ongoing feud in the party between his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and his brother Shivpal Yadav.
The party chief added that every father and son have issues, but the party’s own people went and spoke to the media, making the issue larger than it is.
He said Akhilesh would go meet Shivpal at his residence, and resolve the issue. “Akhilesh meri baat nahi taalega (Akhilesh will listen to me)” he added.
Gayatri Prajapati, a close aide of Mulayam who had been stripped of his ministries by Akhilesh, has also been reinstated.
Mulayam rejected his brother Shivpal Yadav’s resignation from all party posts. He had maintained since Thursday that Shivpal would remain the party’s state unit president.
Akhilesh also attempted to mend a divided party and refused to accept the resignation. The fault lines appeared to be widening within the Samajwadi Party as Shivpal late on Thursday resigned from the UP Cabinet.
Thursday saw a back-and-forth of statements from SP leaders in the Yadav family feud that has become akin to a closely-contested tennis match.
Both Shivpal and Akhilesh had rushed to Lucknow to meet party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The dramatic events of the day concluded with Shivpal’s midnight resignation.
Shivpal also met Akhilesh earlier in the evening, but the meeting lasted only 15 minutes. Soon after, he handed his resignation to his nephew.
According to television reports, Shivpal had asked Akhilesh to hand him back his portfolios. But on being turned down, Shivpal resigned.
Fight Is Not Because of Me, but My CM’s Chair: Akhilesh
Appearing on talk show Aap Ki Adalat, Akhilesh said he wasn’t responsible for the conflict, but it looked like his Chief Minister’s chair might be at the core.
On being asked about Shivpal’s resignation, he said:
Woh mere chacha hai, maine unka istifa nahi swikar kiya. (He’s my uncle, I didn’t accept his resignation.)
Akhilesh hinted at an “outsider” for the second time as he pointed out that Shivpal resigned nearly four hours after his meeting with him at 8pm. “Whom did he speak to in the interim?” he asked.
Several SP leaders, including Mulayam’s cousin Ram Gopal Yadav, have accused Amar Singh of exploiting the fault lines in the family.
The most recent conflict in the party began after Akhilesh sacked state chief secretary Deepak Singhal, reportedly after the latter attended a party at Singh’s house. Singhal is a close aide of Shivpal.
Face-Off Between Shivpal, Akhilesh Supporters at SP Office
The conflict has trickled down to party workers as supporters of Shivpal and supporters of Akhilesh faced off outside the SP headquarters.
Shivpal’s supporters have been protesting outside the headquarters since morning. They have raised slogans against party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav and Chief Minister Akhilesh.
Shivpal told his supporters he would go by what Mulayam says and asked the workers to go to the party office, and calmly convey their views to “netaji” – a move that would perhaps put further pressure on the party chief.
(With inputs from agencies)
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