CHIEF MINISTER Yogi Adityanath and senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shivpal Yadav engaged in some banter at the state Assembly on Wednesday over the “injustice” faced by the opposition party leader when his nephew and Samajwadi Chief Akhilesh Yadav removed him from the Cabinet in the past. Leader of Opposition Akhilesh Yadav was not present in the Assembly during the CM's speech. When Shivpal spoke about how he was removed from his responsibilities six months before the elections, Adityanath expressed “solidarity” with Shivpal, saying that he had been “wronged.” Adityanath said he is fond of Shivpal as he is “honest” and has faced struggles in life. Shivpal, on the other hand, said on the floor of the house that Yogi would “know” him as he has been in touch with him for three years. Yogi, in turn, asked Shivpal to “remove confusion” and said that he is still in touch with Shivpal. Pointing towards the empty seat of Akhilesh, Yogi added that the picture would have been different if Shivpal was on that seat. During his speech, as Adityanath started targeting the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government for “failing” to complete irrigation projects such as Saryu Canal, Shivpal, who used to hold the Irrigation portfolio in the SP government, objected and said 90 per cent of the work on these projects was nearly complete when that government was voted out of power in 2017. As Adityanath said the public knew that SP would not be able to complete the work, and that is why they voted BJP to power, Shivpal went on to express his feelings. “Cheh mahine pehle yeh vibhag nahi hata hota toh sab humein hi milta,” (If the department was not taken from me six months before polls, all this would have been ours), lamented Shivpal in response to the CM's words. Amid a family feud before the 2017 Assembly elections, Shivpal was removed from his charge as Cabinet Minister for Irrigation, while Akhliesh had taken over as head of the party.
