Yogi And Akhilesh Trade Barbs Over Shivpal Yadav

Yogi Adityanath praises Shivpal Yadav .Also asks Akhilesh Yadav to learn about Ram Manohar Lohia from him. Akhilesh hits back saying glad to hear his “chacha” was Adityanath’s “chacha” too.

UP Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath took a dig on opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav yesterday. Adityanath praised the socialist leader Shivpal Yadav and asked Akhilesh to learn about Ram Manohar Lohia from him. Akhilesh, in turn shot back saying the chief minister has a lot of concern for his uncle.

Adityanath, in his speech in the UP legislative assembly, singled out Shivpal Yadav. He praised him for distributing smartphones and tablets in his constituency Jaswantnagar ,Etawah district. Adityanath referred to Shivpal respectfully as “Shivpalji”. He then took a dig on Akhilesh Yadav saying:

“How much you talk of socialism…the fact is that you have transformed socialism into a mirage. Whenever there is a talk about socialism, Dr. Lohia ( Ram Manohar Lohia) and Jayprakash Narayan are discussed. Nowadays, occasionally I see Shivpalji’s writing on Dr. Lohia.”

Giving veiled references to Akhilesh and Shivpal, Adityanath referred to his allies saying, “Difference is that we are together and also near but you fellows ,despite being near, are not together”.

Akhilesh Yadav hit back at this. He said: “The Chief Minister did not speak on my amendment, but has a lot of concern for my uncle. Till now, he was my uncle, but now the Leader of the House (Adityanath) is also calling him “chacha”(uncle)”.

Shivpal Praised Adityanath a Day Before

Adityanath’s compliments to Shivpal came a day after Shivpal praised him in the assembly session. He also took a jibe at the Samajwadi Party leader. Pointing at Akhilesh’s seat, he complained, “If the opposition had taken part in the poll with us, we would have been sitting there and those of the ruling party would have been sitting here.”

Hearing this MLA’s from the ruling party and from SP applauded Shivpal. He then said, “That’s why I want to give the example that I formed the Progressive Samajwadi Party and I also announced 100 candidates two years ago. Had he given tickets to 100 of our candidates, he would have sat there”.

Shivpal gave his statements in Akhilesh’s absence. He praised Adityanath as a honest and hardworking leader. However, had he taken the support of all legislators during the Covid pandemic, things could have been managed better. He also said that the ruling party alone cannot ensure UP’s development and everyone should join in.

Widening Rift between Akhilesh and Shivpal

Yogi Adityanath seems to exploit a recent fissure between Akhilesh nd Shivpal Yadav. Shivpal Yadav is the younger brother of Mulayam Singh Yadav and chief of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party. A renegade, his relations with his brother and his son, Akhilesh, had deteriorated in 2016. Even then he allied with his relatives in the 2022 legislative assembly elections. This year he contested from Jaswantnagar on an SP ticket and had won. However, their rapprochement has been temporary.

On 26^th March,2022, Shivpal complained to ANI that he was not invited to the party’s legislative meeting. He said, “I waited for two days and cancelled all my programs for this meeting, but I wasn’t invited”. Shivpal later swore his oath as an SP MLA.

However , the internal feud between Akhilesh and Shivpal had resurfaced again over Azam Khan’s bail. Shivpal accused Akhilesh of being disrespectful of the party’s older leadership. He was even reported to have greeted Azam when the latter was freed. Shivpal reportedly has plans to form a third front with Azam, but now seems to look for multiple avenues. It is not clear whether his praising Yogi Adityanath may eventually lead him to join BJP. Maybe, he’s sending feelers to Akhilesh to be more deferential to older leaders like Azam and him.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh seems to be blunt in his response. He said those close to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cannot stay in the Samajwadi Party. Akhilesh’s statement came in the backdrop of Shivpal meeting Yogi Adityanath. Shivpal, in his defence, challenged Akhilesh to expel him from the party. So far, there seems to be no abatement in the feud within SP. It’s another possibility if it benefits BJP and Shivpal and adds to Akhilesh’s peril.

(Inputs, Indian Express, Deccan Chronicle, India Today, Scroll).