Mulayam Singh Yadav rejects brother Shivpal's resignation from party post

LUCKNOW| DELHI: Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday rejected the resignation of Shivpal Singh Yadav from the post of UP party president during a meeting between the two leaders here.

Shivpal, who is at loggerheads with his nephew and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Singh Yadav, had on Thursday night resigned as Samajwadi Party's UP unit head and also as a minister in the Akhilesh cabinet.

Shivpal's resignation from the state cabinet has also not been accepted yet by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

According to sources, Shivpal's wife Sarla has also resigned from the post of District Cooperative Bank Chairperson, Etawah, and his son Aditya has quit as Chairman of Pradeshik Cooperative Federation. Earlier today, Shivpal told his supporters that he was with party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

"We all have to strengthen Samajwadi Party. We are with Netaji (Mulayam). His message is an order for us. We will not let the party be weakened. In every situation, we are with Netaji," Shivpal said addressing slogan-shouting supporters outside his 7 Kalidas Marg residence in Lucknow.

"You have to go to the party office. We have to calmly convey our views to Netaji," he told the agitated party men who had gathered in his support since Thursday night after he submitted his resignation to Mulayam.

Mulayam had met both Akhilesh and Shivpal separately on Thursday but was unable to broker a truce between them.

The feud between the two spilled into the open after Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios on September 13, hours after he was replaced with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief by Mulayam.

Mulayam's cousin and SP's national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who is seen as backing the Chief Minister, on Thursday said the leadership had committed an unintentional "mistake" by removing Akhilesh as party's UP president.
He blamed "outsiders" for the crisis, an apparent reference to Amar Singh who recently returned to the party after a number of years.