Lucknow: Hours after he was sacked from the cabinet by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav who is the state president of the Samajwadi party expelled his cousin brother Ram Gopal Yadav from the party for a period of 6 years while blaming him for conspiring with the BJP.
“Ram Gopal’s son and daughter-in-law are involved in corruption charges and to save them from the CBI he is meeting BJP leaders. Ram Gopal is acting like a dictator and trying to malign the party’s image and the chief minister is not able to understand the situation," Shivpal told reporters while addressing his second press conference in a span of one hour.
“Ram Gopal should have used his intellect for the growth of party. I am sacking him for 6 yrs and this decision has been taken after consultation with Mulayam Singh Yadav," Shivpal said.
Ram Gopal however denied the allegations and termed them as “baseless".
“I am not pained by my expulsion, but the allegations against me are baseless. There is no CBI probe against my son and daughter-in-law," Ram Gopal told Network18 post the announcement.
Earlier while addressing the media soon after he was sacked from the state cabinet along with three other ministers, Shivpal said he wasn’t really concerned.
“I am not worried about being sacked. It is an attempt by some people to weaken the SP leadership. People who want to avoid CBI probe are colluding with the BJP and are behind this entire tussle," Shivpal added.
Shivpal also said that the he would go to the people before elections and will fight the UP Assembly polls under the leadership of Mulayam Singh Yadav as the party was formed under him.
Earlier, in a clear indication of where the power centre lies within the Samajwadi party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sacked his uncle Shivpal Yadav and three other ministers from his cabinet following a meeting with party MLAs at his residence in Lucknow.
Besides senior minister Shivpal Yadav, who was recently named the state chief of the Samajwadi Party, the other ministers ousted from the cabinet are Narad Rai, Om Prakash and Shadab Fatima.
Akhilesh’s latest move is seen as an attempt to send a strong message to supporters of Amar Singh and Shivpal Yadav who have been at loggerheads with the young chief minister over a host of issues including ticket distribution for the upcoming state assembly polls in 2017.
Speaking exclusively to Network18, Akhilesh said that SP Supremo Mulayam Singh was always his leader and will remain so in the future.
“I will not break the party at any cost. I will go to attend the meeting at Mulayam’s residence tomorrow," Akhilesh added.
In a clear attack on Amar Singh, Akhilesh told Network18 that those close to the Rajyasabha MP won’t be spared.
Early on Sunday, SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav wrote a letter to party leaders to rally behind UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
But in a major twist to the entire family tussle, CM Akhilesh met SP Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav ahead of junior Yadav’s crucial meeting with party leaders to discuss the power struggle within the party.
The father-son meeting comes at time when Mulayam and Akhilesh had been without communication for a very long time.
Sources within the party told CNN-News18 that the conversation between the father and son mostly revolved around Ram Gopal Yadav’s letter to party workers.
Mulayam had revealed the lack of communication with Akhilesh in his meeting with senior party leaders on Saturday.
Earlier, Ram Gopal Yadav’s letter to Samajwadi Party workers declared Akhilesh Yadav as a clear winner and asked them to defeat the UP CM’s rivals.
“Jahan Akhilesh, Wahan Vijay (victory follows Akhilesh)," the SP supremo’s cousin and party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav’s letter read which also drew a clear cut division and said ‘idhar-udhar’, hinting at the two camps within the party.
Ram Gopal further asked his party workers to tighten the screws of Akhilesh Yadav’s rivals.
The letter was released just few hours ahead of the party meeting called by Akhilesh Yadav.
The letter also sent out a warning that those who speak or protest against Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will not make it to the Assembly again.
He has also hit out at middlemen trying to mislead the people of the poll bound state of Uttar Pradesh.
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