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Rajnath Singh recalls 'friendship' with Mulayam Singh Yadav: 'In Lok Sabha…'
Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was born in a family of farmers and went on to spawn the state's most prominent political clan, died at a Gurugram hospital on Monday aged 82 after a prolonged illness.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh said he had a very strong relationship with Samajwadi Party founder and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was cremated with full state honours in his native village of Saifai in Etawah district on Tuesday.
Singh also remembered how Yadav, the MP from Mainpuri, would often get up from the Opposition benches in the Lok Sabha to sit next to him (in the treasury benches) and share old stories. “That was the kind of friendship we shared,” Singh said.
“We had a very strong relationship. Mulayam Singh Yadav was a big personality in Indian politics, it is a huge loss for the country. We all have come here to pay our tribute to him. Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not come here but he asked me to pay tribute on his behalf,” the defence minister added.
After Yadav's demise, Singh had said despite being hostile in politics, the SP founder had the best relations. “Whenever he met him, he would talk about many subjects with a very open mind. Interactions with him on many occasions will always be fresh in my memory. My condolences to his family and supporters in this hour of grief,” Singh tweeted.
“Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav ji was a grassroots leader who played a prominent role in the politics of Uttar Pradesh for many decades. In his long public life, he worked in many positions and contributed to the development of the country, society and the state. His death is very painful,” he said in another tweet in Hindi.
Besides Singh, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, representing the Congress, Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, former Union minister of state Praful Patel and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav were the other dignitaries who paid their tributes to the socialist leader.
Uttar Pradesh deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak were seen offering their condolences to Yadav's son and incumbent SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. Minister Jitin Prasada, too, was seen.
Actor and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan also marked his presence along with her actor son Abhishek Bachchan at the three-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister's funeral ceremony.
Yadav, who was born in a family of farmers and went on to spawn the state's most prominent political clan, died at a Gurugram hospital on Monday aged 82 after a prolonged illness.
