 "At Samajwadi Party silver jubilee, Shivpal takes a dig at Akhilesh")
Amid the news of bickering and infighting within their party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, and the party’s Uttar Pradesh chief Shivpal Singh Yadav made a show of strength in battleground Lucknow on Saturday, by sharing a stage at the party's mega silver jubilee celebrations.
Even as the party tried to put up a united front, Shivpal took a dig at his nephew and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, saying "some get power even without working".
"Khoon mangoge toh khoon bhi de denge, mujhe CM kabhi nahi banna; kitna bhi apmaan karlo, barkhast kar do. (I don't want to become CM. You can insult me, sack me, but I am ready to give even my blood for the party,” Shivpal said in an apparent reference to his removal as the state PWD minister from the Akhilesh Yadav Cabinet.
Praising Akhilesh for the work he had done in four-and-a-half years, Shivpal said: "Akhilesh ne achchha kaam kia. Main itna bhi kehna chahata hoon ki jo zimmedari PWD vibhaag ki aapne di thi usmein bhi achchha kaam hua. (Akhilesh did good work. But I also did justice to the responsibility given to me for the PWD department,"Shivpal said.
Making it clear that he will not tolerate any insult to party supremo and elder brother Mulayam, Shivpal said: "Hume koi bhi kurbani deni pade, hum hamesha netaji ki aagya ka paalan karenge. (No matter how much sacrifice I have to do, I will always abide by Netaji's order).” It was because of Netaji's (Mulayam’s) struggle and the risks he took that SP was able to form a government in UP, not once but thrice, he said.
Referring to some people he thought were causing misunderstanding among the leaders of the Samajwadi Party, Shivpal cautioned. “Hum jaante hain hum logon ke beech ghuspaithiye ghus aaye hain jo aise mahoul paida karte hain; unse savdhaan rehne ki zarurat hai. (I know there are some outsiders who have made their way into the party and are working to create misunderstandings)."
Earlier, Akhilesh had shown his displeasure at the inclusion of Amar Singh and held him responsible for the infighting in the party. Apart from SP leaders, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad, Rashtriya Lok Dal Chief Ajit Singh, Janata Dal United leader Sharad Yadav, Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Chautala, and JD(U)’s KC Tyagi and noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani were also present at the event.