Yogi innocent, his MLAs work for personal gain, says Shivpal

SHAHJAHANPUR: Samajwadi Party leader and former minister Shivpal Yadav who was in Shahjahanpur to attend a private event said that he was ready to take the stage with Akhilesh Yadav. Shivpal further said that an alliance with other parties would uproot BJP not only from UP but also from the rest of the country.

When asked about the current BJP government in the state, Shivpal told mediapersons that CM Yogi Adityanath was honest but other party members were working for their personal benefits only, and that corruption had increased drastically in the state.

Shivpal, who recently met the CM in Lucknow, said that the meeting was just to discuss pubic issues. “I found him quite honest and humble. But crimes against women have increased and incidents like the Deoria shelter home shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

“Rape and murder cases have increased drastically since BJP came to power and the slogan of making UP a crimefree state in 100 days turned into a fake promise, which is the specialty of BJP. Criminals still have a free run in the state and police are taking contracts for fake encounters. A recent sting operation has confirmed the allegations of fake encounter in the state. Demonetisation and GST have disturbed the life of people of the country,” added Shivpal.

On another note, he said, “I personally want unity within the (Yadav) family, which will strengthen the party. I am always with Netaji (Mulayam Singh) and do not have any problem working under the leadership of Akhilesh.”


Shivpal had met CM Yogi recently

Earlier on Thursday, Shivpal had met CM Yogi in Lucknow to complain about problems faced by people in his assembly constituency, Jaswantnagar.

The SP leader was in Shahjahanpur for two days. However, none of the local SP leaders arrived to meet him. Talking to TOI, he played down talk of differences within party leaders.

He said, “The SP district president is like my son and I had even attended his wedding a few years ago. I don’t have differences with anyone. I’m continuously working towards strengthening the party. Also I personally want the party to think about those senior leaders who are leaving the party due to differences with the leadership.”

SP district president Tanveer Khan said, “We simply follow the instructions given by the party high command. Since Shivpal had come to attend a personal event at the residence of Lakhan Pratap Singh, who is not a member of our party, we didn’t meet Shivpal.”