LUCKNOW: A day after former Samajwadi Party (SP) state chief Shivpal Yadav hinted that he might form a new party, his elder cousin and SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav hit back saying that it was an irresponsible statement by a leader of his stature.
"It's not easy to form a new party," Ram Gopal Yadav said in Etawah on Wednesday.
Smelling a plot in Shivpal’s statement to destabilise Chief Minister and nephew Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Gopal said if he would from a new party, Shivpal would not be able to remain an MLA and would further stand losing his membership under the anti-defection law.
“There are thousands of political parties registered with the Election Commission which fail to gain the status of contesting elections. Shivpal has always conspired against Akhilesh Yadav and his latest decision to form a new party after March 11 is also a part of this conspiracy,” Ram Gopal said.
An ardent supporter of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Gopal strongly batted for the SP-Congress alliance in the polls and predicted that it would sweep the elections. He also came down heavily on his elder cousin Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal for giving statements against the arrangement.
“Rejecting the SP-Congress alliance, which has been struck by the top leaders of both the parties, in the middle of the election is a decision which lacks prudence,” said Ram Gopal whose statement came as a cushion to the alliance
leaders, especially Akhilesh Yadav, who was grappling to handle the situation after Mulayam’s statement.
Mulayam Singh Yadav had on Monday said "I have always opposed the Congress which has ruled for so long but has done nothing for the development of the nation."
The SP patriarch also added that "I am totally against the alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress and will not campaign for this tie-up in the elections."