Mulayam goes soft on UF, will do without Congress

Mulayam also went back on his words to contest all Lok Sabha seats alone. “We will certainly accommodate the UF partners,” he told newspersons after a meeting with party workers. Workers from at least two districts, Aligarh and Sultanpur, demanded Mulayam’s intervention to resolve the wrangling in the party. In an obvious attempt to embarrass the BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh, the SP chief exhorted the youth wing of his party to come armed with a five-feet-long baton to stage a march on the streets of the State capital on January 11. “My people were thrashed by the police last month because they did not have your lathi with them. I will see who can beat them this time,” Mulayam said referring to the lathi-charge on `Red Brigade’ members of his party.

Mulayam threatened to gherao CM’s residence if the police tried to arrest State president of Samajwadi Yuvajan Sabha, Kunwar Shailendra Singh, who reportedly assaulted a worker, Varun Tiwari, yesterday after the latter refused to push his jeep caught in an open manhole. Shailendra is known for his proximity with the Defence Minister. Incidentally, Mulayam had called upon students of Allahabad University on Thursday to “disrupt” the functioning of the university till the administration agreed to withdraw the recent hike in tuition fee. The State BJP spokesman Shyam Nandan Singh termed the call as “an attempt to promote anarchy” in the state.