UP CM Akhilesh Yadav calls Congress VP Rahul Gandhi an old friend; rules out possibility of alliance with BSP for Assembly elections in 2016
Akhilesh Yadav with Samajwadi Party chief and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.
New Delhi: An alliance with the Congress is possible during the next Lok Sabha polls if Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh is declared the prime ministerial candidate and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi his deputy, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said yesterday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Papa the great! UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav shares dais with Samajwadi Party chief and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. File pic
He said, “Rahul Gandhi is an old friend... If they say Netaji (Mulayam Singh) will be the prime minister and Rahul Gandhi the deputy prime minister, I will say ‘yes’ to an alliance right now.”
He ruled out the possibility of shaking hands with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). On the question of a Bihar-like Grand Alliance in Uttar Pradesh, where assembly elections are due next year, he said, “Our party has done good work. We will go to election with that. There is no need for alliance... It is premature to comment on it.”
Commenting on the murder of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh after being falsely accused of eating beef by the killer mob, the chief minister said everyone must have the right to eat anything. Asked if he approved of beef eating, he said, “There should be freedom to eat what one eats.”
Responding to a question on communal politics in UP he said, “One thing should be clear: Samajwadi (socialists) will not benefit from communal politics.”
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
