To pacify sulking Azam,Mulayam sends Akhilesh

Akhilesh reached the official residence of Khan in the afternoon,stayed there for about an hour.

Khan left for Rampur,his constituency,immediately after the meeting.

The minister,who had criticised his own government’s handling of Muzaffarnagar violence,had also skipped the party’s two-day national executive that concluded Thursday at Agra.

His absence had drawn a sharp reaction with the party national general secretary Ramgopal Yadav demanded Khan’s resignation. Other SP leaders,including Naresh Aggrawal and Abu Asim Azmi,had supported Ramgopal.

However,Mulayam,in a damage control exercise called up Azam from Agra. Later,Mulayam announced that Khan can never “be angry with him” and that he is aware why he had skipped the national executive. Instead,Mulayam asked the CM to explain Azam’s absence from Cabinet meetings,to which Akhilesh did not respond.

Incidentally,amidst these developments,Khan maintained silence.

After returning from Agra,Akhilesh was asked by Mulayam to visit Khan at his residence.

Though no official information was available about the meeting,sources claimed that discussions revolved around Muzaffarnagar violence and other Muslim issues.

Akhilesh briefed Khan about the steps taken by the government to control the riots. Since Khan is also the Parliamentary Affairs Minister and with Assembly session beginning on September 16,it was important for the government to keep him in good humour.

Sources said that Muzaffarnagar violence may be presented as the main reason behind Khan’s anger but there are several other reasons. Lately,Khan has not been keeping good relations with Ramgopal Yadav. The increased involvement of Ramgopal in state’s politics had irked Khan.

It is also learnt that certain communications from Khan regarding some work were not given much importance by CM’s office. Due to this,Khan was not attending any official function and even remained absent from cabinet meetings.

During the 18 months of Akhilesh Yadav government,Khan expressed his displeasure on several occasions. He had also tendered his resignation as minister in-charge of Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad districts after he was replaced as minister in-charge of Meerut.

He had again offered to resign from the chairmanship of state resource committee after its recommendations were not followed.

In the wake of Kumbh tragedy,Khan had again submitted his resignation from the chairmanship of organising committee. On all the occasions,his resignation was turned down.

This is not the first time that Akhilesh had to reach out to Khan to placate him. In August last year,Khan made it a prestige issue to suspend Lucknow Municipal Commissioner N P Singh. He stopped attending office and Akhilesh had to visit his house to soothe his anger.