Hush-hush submission

Mulayam Singh told senior BJP leader it was in protest that he addressed only three public meetings

So what did Samajwadi Party senior leader Mulayam Singh Yadav whisper to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the two met at the swearing-in of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath? Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders feigned ignorance, but Mulayam Singh sat next to Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, and the two chatted the entire length of the oath taking ceremony of the new Uttar Pradesh council of ministers. According to sources, Mulayam Singh told Naidu that it was a mistake for his son Akhilesh Yadav to strike an alliance with the Congress. Apparently, Mulayam Singh told the senior BJP leader it was in protest that he addressed only three public meetings and largely kept himself away from his party’s election campaign. Mulayam Singh, who is known to have a phenomenal memory remembering faces and names of political workers, also kept telling Naidu about the background of the ministers being sworn in and expressed satisfaction that the new council of ministers will have at least one Muslim face. The BJP and its allies didn’t field a single Muslim among their 403 candidates for UP assembly.