Akhilesh shares dias with uncle, asks media not to create rift

Lucknow: A day after sending out signals that all was well in his family, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday took potshots at the media saying it should concentrate on news and not “instigate” rifts, as he shared the dias with his uncle Shivpal Yadav after a long time. Shivpal, in his speech at the event, heaped praise on Akhilesh and lauded the development works undertaken by his government. “There are media persons who (when with me) will tell me that I am doing good work and say the same thing to Chacha (senior cabinet minister  Shivpal Singh Yadav)..tell me that my decisions are good and tell chacha that his decisions are good,” Akhilesh said addressing a function to dedicate Avadh Shilpgram to the people in Lucknow. The chief minister was seen sharing the dias with his uncle Shivpal after a long time amid rumours of differences between them on the issue of the merger of mafia don-turned- MLA Mukhtar Ansari’s Quami Ekta Dal with the Samajwadi Party. Akhilesh remarked, “Arrey partrakar sathiyon, aap apni news chaloa, kyon jhagda kara rahey ho (mediapersons you concentrate on your news, why are you creating rifts)”. “In democracy there is a need to remain vigilant from many things including media…don’t know what will take the shape of breaking news,” he said. Amid reports of differences between them, Shivpal on Friday had a 90-minute meeting with the chief minister at his residence, an apparent attempt to send a message of unity in the Yadav family.