Mulayam my guru, if he wants will step down: Akhilesh

Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday struck an emotional pitch at the crucial party meeting in the presence of his father and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav calling him his "guru" and assuring that he could never split the party. Akhilesh was addressing party office bearers, legislators, and supporters outside the SP headquarters where his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav was also present. Akhilesh said he was ready to quit if his father asked him to and if it sorted the impasse in the ruling party. In a choked voice, the Chief Minister said he has always obeyed the SP chief and he was very thankful that his father had given him such dizzying heights in the party. The 43-year-old, however, pointed at a conspiracy against him by some with vested interests and rued that his uncle Shivpal was also part of it. "I have done everything for the betterment of the party and my government has worked for all-round development of Uttar Pradesh and I will continue to do that," he said. He highlighted various development projects like the Lucknow Metro and the Agra-Lucknow Expressway which would be inaugurated on Netaji's (Mulayam Singh) birthday in November. Trashing reports and speculation that he was anti-Mulayam, he said he had never done anything which was against party interest and had always ensured that every problem was addressed to Netaji either through letters or personal meetings. In an important disclosure, Akhilesh referred to the sacking of minister Gayatri Prajapati in September as a decision taken on the behest of Netaji. "Even Chief Secretary Deepak Singhal was removed on Mulayam Singh's order and I had even tipped off the top bureaucrat to go and beg for forgiveness," Akhilesh said.