While many MLC’s are recently resigning from their respective parties and joining the BJP party, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, on Monday said that those who wanted to go should go, without offering any excuse, so that he could ascertain who was with him in “bad times”.
Talking about ‘excuses’ put forward by three MLCs, namely Bukkal Nawab, Sarojini Agarwal and Yashwant Singh, while leaving the party, Yadav said, “Some people are saying they were feeling suffocated as the atmosphere of the party had gone bad. This should not be an excuse for leaving the party, they should find a better excuse.”
Claiming that the Samajwadi Party was doing well and a large number of women, farmers and youths had joined it recently, he said, “Those who want to leave the party should not give any excuse…they can just leave. In that case, at least I will get to know who is with us during bad times.”
The former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh was addressing the party workers at the SP headquarters here on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. Yadav said he had paid a visit to Nawab on Eid and had ‘sewai’ (a sweet dish) with him.
“At that time, he (Nawab) had not mentioned that he was planning to leave the party. It has come to our notice that there was some land issue, due to which he was being pressured,” he added.
In a dig at Nawab and the BJP, Yadav said, “They (BJP) are doing good work. It is ironic that when a person is not in the BJP, he is labelled as a land mafia and when he joins the party, he becomes honest, upright and a gentleman.”
