Akhilesh supporters demand his return as SP's UP chief

Minutes after Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav claimed all was well within the family and the party, hundreds of Akhilesh Yadav supporters virtually laid siege to the party office here, demanding that the Chief Minister be given back the reins of the party's state unit.

Young men, wearing red caps and some even wearing T-shirts with Akhilesh's image embossed on them, climbed up on trees and demanded that Shivpal Singh Yadav be removed as state chief and Akhilesh once again be made the party chief, as was the case before September 13.

They said the future of the party lay in the hands of the 43-year-old son of Mulayam Singh.

Police personnel posted outside the party office at Vikramaditya Marg had a tough time controlling them as they tried to get near the gate, where the vehicles of the VIP fleet of the Samajwadi Party chief were parked.

Informed sources said Akhilesh Yadav, despite three meetings with his father on Tuesday, was adamant that his aides and uncle Ram Gopal Yadav, who had been expelled from the party, be brought back. He also demanded that Mulayam Singh's confidant Amar Singh be thrown out.

They said Akhilesh Yadav was told that these demands were non-negotiable after which he drove to his official 5, Kalidas Marg residence.

He also refused to yield to the demands of his father that Ministers sacked by him recently be taken back into the cabinet.

--IANS

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