” I prayed” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return to power : Mulayam Singh Yadav
NEW DELHI : Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, in a jaw-dropping departure from the opposition chorus and his own party line, said he “prayed” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return to power, during speeches to mark the last sitting of the current Lok Sabha today before the national election.
His supporters swore it was all in humour, but the comment still raised eyebrows.Few have taken the comment seriously; after all, Mulayam Singh had wished the same for outgoing PM Manmohan Singh in 2014.
“I want to congratulate the PM that he tried to move ahead taking everyone along. I hope all members to win and return, and you (PM Modi) become PM again,” Mulayam Singh, 79, said in the Lok Sabha, sending the house into guffaws. The camera panned to his immediate neighbor, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, looking surprised, and to PM Modi, chuckling and thumping his desk. The prime minister also folded his hands.
PM Modi later tipped his hat to Mulayam Singh’s comment during his own speech: “There is much to do. And Mulayam Singhji has given his blessings. I am very grateful to him.”Congress president Rahul Gandhi, asked to react, said he “disagreed”, but added “Mulayam Singh Yadav Ji has a role in politics and I respect his opinion”.Few have taken the comment seriously; after all, Mulayam Singh had wished the same for outgoing PM Manmohan Singh in 2014.
The comment may not please his son Akhilesh Yadav, one of the main players in efforts to forge a grand opposition coalition to take on PM Modi and the BJP in the national election, due by May. Akhilesh Yadav has also forged an alliance with bitter rival Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh, with the intention of putting up a stronger fight against the BJP, which swept the state in the 2014 national election. Mulayam Singh has remained silent through these developments. The Yadav father and son have not been on the best of terms over the past two years, during which Akhilesh, 45, staged a coup and took over control of the party founded by his father.Despite the strain, Mulayam Singh chose to remain by his son’s side as his younger brother Shivpal Yadav broke away and set up a rebel outfit.
Reacting to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s comment that he hoped for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return to the office, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, PM’s bitter rival, said he disagreed with Mr Yadav’s comment but he respected his opinion.”I disagree with him. But Mulayam Singh Yadav has a role in politics and I respect his opinion,” Mr Gandhi was quoted as saying by news agency. When PM Modi delivered his last speech of the Lok Sabha, he thanked Mr Yadav for his “blessings”. “There is much to do. And Mulayam Singhji has given his blessings. I am very grateful to him,” he said.
