Lucknow: Rejecting rumours of floating a new party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in an emotional speech addressed to his father and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today said some leaders in the party were conspiring against him and added that he would fight against the wrong.
The Chief Minister broke down as he addressed his party workers and leaders at a meeting called by his father.
“I will fight against wrong as you have taught me,” he told Mulayam.
“Who is forming is a new party? I am not. I have many responsibilities…Some people are trying to spread confusion in the Samajwadi Party,” he added.
Putting forth his stand, Akhilesh made it clear that he would act against all those who conspire against him.
“I will stop those who conspire against me. One of my responsibilities is to act against any conspiracy against me. If there’s a conspiracy against Netaji or the Samajwadi Party I will act against it. And that is why I did not ask anyone else about the removals from the Cabinet,” he said.
The Chief Minister also attempted to draw his father’s attention to the development work done by his government as he shied away from talking about the feud within the party,
“I have told the entire Cabinet that this is your party,” he said.
Declaring his loyalty towards his father, an emotional Akhilesh said that he would have resigned if ‘Netaji’ would have asked him to do so.
“I would have resigned if Netaji had wanted me to. I fulfilled the promises I made to Netaji. I am where I am because of Netaji but this (politics) is my career; I don’t know any other profession,” he said.
Akhilesh also used the occasion to vent his ire against senior party leader Amar Singh.
“I was hurt when Amar Singh said that by November Akhilesh will not be the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Ram Gopal ji didn’t say that,” he said.
Today’s meeting takes place a day after Sunday0’s dramatic events when Akhilesh sacked his uncle Shivpal Yadav from his Cabinet for the second time in a month. Many considered this to be a direct challenge to his father Mulayam, who has been promoting Shivpal over him.
Hours later, Mulayam ordered the expulsion of his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav, considered to be Akhilesh loyalist, from the party for six years.
This was announced by Shivpal, who alleged that Ram Gopal was tarnishing the Samajwadi Party’s image by colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and attempting to weaken Mulayam’s hold on the party.
Meanwhile, the supporters of both Akhilesh and Shivpal gathered outside the party office in Lucknow and engaged in competitive sloganeering.
The opposition parties are keeping a close tab of today’s meeting amid speculations that the Samajwadi Party is headed for a split just before assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
ANI