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‘Big politics’ behind Modi’s praise for Mulayam, says Akhilesh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s praise for Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav should be treated with caution as it may be due to political compulsions, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s praise for Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav should be treated with caution as it may be due to political compulsions, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday.
The chief minister’s comment was in contrast to the SP chief who had said that Modi’s praise was an honour for him and the party.
Shortly after the Prime Minister’s rare praise for the Yadav leader, the SP had announced that it would not be part of the JD(U)-led grand alliance in neighbouring Bihar for the forthcoming assembly polls.
Though the SP does not have much support in Bihar, political analysts feel that its decision to contest all 243 seats could dent the prospects of the grand alliance in many constituencies. Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are, however, are due only in 2017.
“There is big politics behind this. We will have to remain cautious,” Akhilesh Yadav told newsmen on the sidelines of the Hindustan Shikhar Samagam in the state capital on Saturday.
The chief minister, however, clarified that this was his personal opinion.
“This is good that the praise has come from the PM,” said the chief minister. “Netaji (Mulayam Singh) is a senior leader and the prime minister is also the leader of the country,” he said.
Without specifying, the CM said the compulsion of floor coordination in Parliament may lead to such synchronisation between leaders of ruling and the opposition parties as has been the case in the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad, where the SP does not have a majority.
Akhilesh Yadav, however, took strong exception to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s pitch for a review of the reservation policy and said certain forces were out to malign those favouring the quota system.
He emphasised that there could be no national development without the development of Uttar Pradesh.
“If any leader wants to become the Prime Minister he has to find a seat (to contest) in Uttar Pradesh,” said the chief minister referring to the prime minister who represents the Varanasi constituency.
He said Uttar Pradesh had sent the maximum number of BJP MPs to parliament and so it should get a greater share of the development pie.
