‘There may be problems in govt, but not in family’

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday was hard at work brokering peace between various factions of his large clan that rules Uttar Pradesh.

At the centre of the ruling party’s feud is the ambition of his brother Shivpal Yadav to replace his son Akhilesh Yadav in the Chief Minister’s office.

Shivpal flew to Mulayam’s Delhi home today afternoon from the family village Saifai even as a defiant Akhilesh remained ensconced in his 5, Kalidas Marg official residence in Lucknow after having divested his uncle of all key Cabinet portfolios. Nevertheless, Akhilesh insisted that there is no feud in the family.

The SP’s internal crisis could not have come at a worse time, as the party is in the midst of ticket distribution in the run-up to the Assembly elections, slated for early 2017.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, currently on a tour of UP, took the opportunity to attack the CM with a colourful play of word. “The cycle’s (SP’s election symbol) tyre is already punctured. Akhilesh Yadavji has only thrown the wheel out,” he told a rally in Mirzapur, eastern UP.

Mayawati, head of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the SP’s key rival, in the meantime, has demanded elections at the earliest.

The events that have precipitated SP’s internal crisis are largely owing to Akhilesh’s drive to appear to be cleaning the house and rebuilding the SP’s image — from a clannish outfit known for heralding lawlessness and corruption to a GenNext, modern party.

To this end, the young Chief Minister has kept another relic of his father’s age, Amar Singh, at bay, prevented Shivpal’s bid for mafia-dominated Quomi Ekta Dal (QED)’s merger with the SP, sacked controversial Chief Secretary Deepak Singhal and removed two ministers, Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and Raj Kishore Singh, who were facing allegations of corruption and land grabbing.

Akhilesh’s final stroke was divesting Shivpal of all key portfolios — the departments of cooperatives, flood control, irrigation, PWD, wasteland development, water resources, revenue, disaster relief and development and public service management.

But this was only after Mulayam had sacked Akhilesh as the president of the State unit of SP and appointed Shivpal in his stead.

The CM, however, asserted that all is actions have been guided by his father. “As far as the family is concerned, everyone abides by what Netaji (Mulayam) says and will accept his word,” he said in Lucknow today.

Parrying questions about there being a “feud” in the Yadav family, he said: “There may be problems in the government but not in the family.”

He also referred to Amar Singh as “outsiders” whose presence is an obstacle to the smooth functioning of the party.

Singh had reportedly hosted a dinner in Delhi recently, where the outgoing Chief Secretary Singhal was present. “Those whom I have removed...people are well aware of their image,” Akhilesh said.

On his part, Shivpal refused to comment on the CM taking away all the portfolios and removing officers close to him.

“It is the discretion of CM to give (or take) portfolios and remove officers and keep his advisors. I will follow Netaji’s directions and will fulfil responsibilities given by him,” he told reporters at Saifai.

Asked about his future course of action and whether he will resign from the State Cabinet, Shivpal said: “I will talk to Netaji (Mulayam). People of the State have full faith in Netaji and the Samajwadi Party.”