Mulayam says his biggest mistake was making Akhilesh UP CM

07 May, Mainpuri

Locked in a bitter power struggle between his son Akhilesh and brother Shivpal, Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav today said it was his biggest mistake of life to have installed Akhilesh as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Singh said people committed no mistakes and the SP lost the elections due to its own follies. In the same vein, Mulayam Singh also praised his son Akhilesh saying, ”Akhilesh worked hard for the development of UP and many important development projects works were completed during his regime. Mulayam Singh also endorsed the bitter criticism of Ram Gopal Yadav by his brother Shivpal Yadav.

Mulayam Singh also attacked his cousin brother Ram Gopal Yadav, Rajya Sabha MP and accused him of sabotaging the effort for unity in the party. ”Had I been the Chief Minister of UP, the Samajwadi Party would have won the 2017 state assembly elections. I confess that I made a mistake by deciding for Akhilesh as chief minister. I should have taken over as the chief minister in 2012. The Samajwadi Party in 2012 went to the state assembly elections on my face and the people had voted for me, yet I committed a grave error and decided for Akhilesh as chief minister,” said the SP patron here.

”Ram Gopal Yadav is not working for the party. He is a selfish person and is concerned only for his narrow political interests. Ram Gopal Yadav had spent lot of money for ensuring the defeat of Shivpal from the Jaswant Nagar assembly seat in Etawah. When I learnt of this development I had to go to Jaswant Nagar and held public meeting there,” said Mulayam Singh.

On Shivpal Yadav’s comment terming Ramgopal Yadav as “Shakuni”, Mulayam Singh said, “Whatever Shivpal said is absolutely correct as the conduct of Ram Gopal Yadav is worse than Shakuni. Ram Gopal not only hatched a conspiracy for the defeat of Shivpal from Jaswant Nagar, he also spent huge sums of money for the purpose”.

To a question on his brother Shivpal Yadav deciding to form a new front, he said efforts should be made to strengthen the Samajwadi Party. Shivpal, who retained the Jaswant Nagar Assembly seat during the recent elections, has said a secular front would be formed if Akhilesh Yadav did not hand over the reins of the party back to his father Mulayam in three months.

Earlier this week Shivpal Yadav announced the launch of the `Samajwadi secular front’ to be headed by his brother Mulayam Singh. Next day Mulayam Singh backed out saying, ”I have not spoken to Shivpal for a week and I will talk to him and will never allow the split in 25-year-old party.”