Akhilesh Yadav takes charge of Lohia Trust, BJP leaders target Shivpal’s removal

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav's move to take over as President of the Lohia Trust, replacing his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, has become the latest political debate point in Uttar Pradesh, with SP leaders hailing it, while some in the BJP termed the development as an internal matter of the Yadav family and others questioned it on political grounds.

Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar alleged that Akhilesh Yadav no longer trusted Shivpal Yadav because of his political differences with the SP chief in the past, citing Shivpal Yadav’s decision to leave the party and spend a period with the BJP before forming the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL).

Rajbhar said Shivpal Yadav had, at the time, openly criticised the SP and accused it of becoming a party of "thieves and rogues" and of being dominated by mafias. He also recalled Shivpal Yadav’s allegations that people involved in encroaching on the land of the poor had entered the party.

According to Rajbhar, Shivpal Yadav had repeatedly made such statements after forming his own party, making it difficult for Akhilesh Yadav to repose trust in him.

Minister Anil Rajbhar also criticised the SP chief, alleging that Akhilesh Yadav did not have faith in anyone and even lacked confidence in himself.

“The head of the Samajwadi Party does not have any trust in anyone. He does not have faith in anyone. He does not even have faith in himself. That is why, if you look at his campaigns and look at his statements, do you see any stability? There is no stability. His issues keep changing, his statements keep changing," he said.

However, Rajbhar added that he did not want to comment on another family or political party, saying that the developments within the SP were visible to everyone.

Minister Narendra Kashyap said the Lohia Trust's leadership was ultimately a matter for its members to decide, including who should remain associated with it. “However, it would have been better if someone from the social sector had been given the opportunity instead of Shivpal or Akhilesh Yadav,” Kashyap said, alleging that the development reflected “dynastic politics”.

SP MP Awadhesh Prasad, meanwhile, backed Akhilesh’s appointment, saying, “The decision taken by the party’s national President is acceptable to everyone.”

Meanwhile, Bihar Minister Ram Kripal Yadav said, “It is their trust. It was with Shivpal Ji, and now that he is no longer there, it has gone to Akhilesh Yadav. This is their internal family matter, and they will do what they consider appropriate...”

The change follows a meeting of the Lohia Trust in which all members reportedly expressed their consent to Akhilesh Yadav becoming its President. Shivpal Singh Yadav had been heading the trust since 2017.

The Lohia Trust was originally headed by senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav. In 2017, amid the intense family feud in the Samajwadi Party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Mulayam Singh Yadav removed Ram Gopal Yadav and appointed Shivpal Singh Yadav as the trust’s president.

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