Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday took a dig at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and his son Akhilesh Yadav over the state's poor law and order. Mulayam claimed that if had been in the chair instead of Akhilesh Yadav, he would have improved the state's law and order within 15 days.
Mulayam also appreciated Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for improving the law and order situation of Bihar. He said that under Nitish Kumar Bihar was developing very fast and had very good law and order. He advised Akhilesh not to hesitate in sending errant officers to jail.
"District Magistrates and SPs should be made responsible for law and order and, if needed, action can be initiated against them. Those (officers) who are not listening or not following law should be sent to jail," he said.
Asking Akhilesh, who was sitting near him, to listen carefully to what he was saying, Mulayam said, "Under the Constitution, everyone is the same, so why they (officers) could not go to jail?"
When asked if Akhilesh was working under pressure, Mulayam said there was no pressure on him. "There is no pressure on Akhilesh..I have not even talked to him for past 15-20 days. I give him advise but never pressurise him...I am not only his father, but party president also," Yadav said.
Declining to answer questions on Lok Sabha polls, Mulayam said tickets of some seats were changed and review of poll preparation was going on. About reports that SP had put weak candidates in some seats to facilitate victory of Congress candidates, Mulayam said it was not so. "SP has a mass base and those who get party ticket becomes strong," Mulayam said but did not mention about fielding candidates in Rae Bareli and Amethi -- constituencies of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi respectively.
"SP has always stood against Congress and fought against its policies," he added.
On the occasion, IAS officer Tapendra Prasad, who recently took voluntary retirement, joined SP. Prasad said he had six years of service remaining but joined SP to serve the people.
Mulayam said the UP government had taken several people-friendly initiatives and was working in the interest of the common man.
"What has Gujarat done? Can you tell me? In UP, a number of schemes, including loan waiver of farmers worth Rs 1,650 crore, free irrigation for them and others schemes are launched...but work in UP is not getting due coverage," he said.
The SP supremo said in Patna (Bihar), he could accept that roads were constructed and the perception that extortion was going on was checked by the Nitish Kumar government, but nothing considerable was being done in Gujarat. On being asked why he did not attend UPA dinner, Mulayam said he was not in UPA.
Earlier, too, Mulayam had criticised Akhilesh Yadav over law and order and even praised senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani. He had said that Uttar Pradesh's law and order must be poor as Advani had criticised it and he (Mulayam) had never known the BJP leader making a false statement.
(With additional information from PTI)
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