Amid a bitter power tussle, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday took a dig at uncle and state party president Shivpal Yadav and said the sword that has been gifted to him shall definitely be used.
"Aapne mujhe talwar bhent ki hai, aur talwar doge toh chalayenge hi (You have given me the sword, obviously we would use it)," Akhilesh said.
This came after Shivpal's veiled attack on nephew Akhilesh.
He said, "Ask for blood, I shall give blood. Don't make me chief minister, insult me if you will, I know I have done good work."
Asserting that the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections would decide the political future of the country, Akhilesh said they would not let the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) divisive agenda come to fruition.
"I assure you that we will come back to power and not let communal forces succeed," Akhilesh said.
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Akhilesh said that the development done by Uttar Pradesh under the Samajwadi Party government has set precedent to other states.
"In last few years, the Uttar Pradesh Government has set an example for rest of the states, be it in construction of roads or anything else," he said.
Acknowledging the efforts of party supremo Mulayam Yadav's contribution in building the party from its scratch, Akhilesh said, "Netaji has struggle a lot to build the party from its conception, I thank him for his sacrifice and hard work."
"We have come a long way, now we have to take the Samajwadi Party to next level. And in order to do that we have to do this together," he added.
The Samajwadi Party has been in middle of internal family feud with Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal at loggerheads, vying for the chief ministerial post.