Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday flatly denied pressurising his son Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, on whom he had entrusted the reins of the SP government 14 months ago.
Talking to mediapersons at the party state headquarters in Lucknow, he reacted sharply, when a scribe sought to blame the pitfalls of the Akhilesh regime on him. “I do not exercise any kind of pressure on Akhilesh or his government”, he asserted, while hastening to add, “and if you do not believe me, just take him away and ask him in private”.
However, he went on to further clarify, “But do remember that apart from being his father, I am also the president of the Samajwadi Party. And it is in that capacity that I do sometimes advise and counsel him”.
Akhilesh, who was present with him at the press conference, announced his government’s decision about accepting the recommendations of the Nimesh Commission -- that was set up by the Mayawati regime to go into the alleged false implication of Muslim youth in terror-related cases.
“We have accepted the recommendations of the Nimesh Commission; now we will table the action taken report before the next session of the state assembly”, he said.
Akhilesh, who was sitting beside him, kept smiling with a dutiful nod in confirmation of whatever the father was claiming, despite the common impression that the father had tied his son’s hands.
Interestingly, even as the SP patriarch went about praising his son’s performance as chief minister and rated him even better than Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, he did not hesitate to admit, “There may be some shortcomings on the law and order front, but I am sure he will be able to set things right soon.”
And looking towards his son, he said, “I think you should talk to the DMs and SPs and tell them to pull their socks and ensure improvement in law and order.”
In the same vein, he quipped, “Let me tell you that if I were the chief minister, I would take more than 15 days to straighten the law and order across UP.”
