Lucknow:
After open strife in the ruling Yadav clan pushed Uttar Pradesh into political crisis, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle Shivpal Yadav, who was stripped of key portfolios, said on Wednesday that he will not resign.
He said that he will abide by the directions of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. “I will follow netaji’s directions and will fulfil responsibilities given by him. I will not resign. My security has not been removed,” he told News Nation.
Earlier on Wednesday, Akhilesh Yadav cancelled some official engagements following the family feud. The Samajwadi Party top brass, meanwhile, swung into a damage control mode to keep the flock together ahead of Assembly elections, with Mulayam Singh Yadav calling Shivpal and Ram Gopal Yadav for a meeting in New Delhi.
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As the state plunged into crisis, the chief minister stayed put in his 5, Kalidas Marg official residence since morning to take stock of the situation and did not attend two official engagements perhaps to avoid the media.
From Saifai, Shivpal flew to Delhi to meet Mulayam even as thousands of his supporters gathered outside his residence there and the PWD guest house to express solidarity with him as speculation was rife that he might resign.
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The Mulayam family has been dogged by serious differences but matters reached a flash point yesterday after Chief Minister shunted out Chief Secretary Deepak Singhal, considered as his uncle Shivpal Yadav’s favourite.
In a tit-for-tat action, Mulayam took away the post of UP Samajwadi Party chief from his son Akhilesh, perhaps to smooth the ruffled feathers of Shivpal.
But, within hours a peeved chief minister hit back by clipping his uncle’s wings by divesting him of his key PWD, Irrigation and Cooperative portfolios.
(With inputs from PTI)
