Lucknow: In a significant development, Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav resigned from Uttar Pradesh Cabinet and also stepped down as state party chief on Thursday.
Shivpal, who had met UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today, submitted his resignation late tonight to SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Shivpal's wife Sarla also resigned from the post of District Cooperative Bank chairperson, Etawah, and son Aditya resigned as chairman of Pradeshik Cooperative Federation, as per media reports.
However, Mulayam has reportedly refused to accept the resignations.
Earlier, Mulayam had rushed to Lucknow from Delhi this evening and had launched efforts to douse the flames by meeting his son Akhilesh as well as brother Shivpal.
As soon as he reached Lucknow, Mulayam had summoned Shivpal, who is at loggerheads with Akhilesh, and held closed door meeting with him to defuse the situation.
Shivpal later met Akhilesh at his official residence, sources said, adding the meeting came at the behest of Mulayam.
The feud had spilled into the open after the UP CM had stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios (PWD, cooperative and irrigation) on September 13, hours after he was replaced with his uncle as the party's state unit chief by his father.
Meanwhile, Mulayam's cousin Ram Gopal Yadav earlier today had said that leadership had committed an unintentional 'mistake' by removing Akhilesh as party's UP president.
He had said that 'differences' had arisen due to some 'misunderstanding' even as he made a veiled attack on Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh.
"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP)," Ram Gopal had told reporters, as per PTI.
When asked about CM's statement regarding role of 'outsiders' in the family tussle, Ram Gopal had said, "There is a general perception in party workers, leaders and people about this...".
But Shivpal had defended Singh saying an organisation is strengthened by taking everyone along. "Taking everyone along makes an organisation stronger. There are all kinds of people in a party. One has to apply his mind also," he had said.
Singh, who was expelled from the party in 2010, rejoined the SP recently.
When asked about stripping of his portfolios, Shivpal had said, "I cannot raise questions on which circumstances the CM has changed my departments. It is his discretion. I have a big responsibility. It is bigger than getting portfolios. We have to form a majority government in the state in 2017. I was state president in 2011 and now neta ji (Mulayam) has once again given me this responsibility. No one has the capacity to disobey what he says.
Asked where he felt more comfortable - running the government or in the organisation - he had said that he had vast experience and could run both.
(With Agency inputs)
