UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav was publicly rebuked by his father, Samajwadi boss Mulayam Singh Yadav, here Tuesday. “Aey mukhya mantri sun lo! (CM, listen) ... Stooges are running your government and officers are sitting over clearances. Officers are delaying clearances. These stooges always cheat you, and they are not good for your image,” he said, as the CM smiled weakly.
He asked Akhilesh Yadav to keep a distance from “sycophants”, adding: “You (Akhilesh) shouldn’t fall in the trap of sycophants. You’ve become habituated to hearing ‘Sir ...’. The outcome of those who fall in the trap of sycophants is not good.”
The SP chief delivered a 10-day ultimatum to ministers and state officials to “mend their ways”, warning that otherwise they would “face action”.
Continuing his diatribe at a gathering at the CM’s house, the senior Yadav said: “I haven’t reviewed the work of state ministers, but I know what they are doing. The party is bigger than the government, and this government is weakening the party.”
Pointing to Azam Khan, he said: “The time has come for you all to pull up your socks. Things are going wrong and you also know it. Please start working and I will talk to you later.”