Mulayam-Amar share dais in Lucknow

Lucknow, Oct 15: The geniality between SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and expelled party leader Amar Singh was once again visible today as both the leaders shared dais here and seated next to each other.

The occasion was foundation stone-laying ceremony of 1000-bedded super speciality Medanta Awadh Hospital by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Usually Akhilesh Yadav sits next to the SP supremo during such public programmes but today the Chief Minister himself brought Singh on the dais and offered him his chair.

The two leaders and the Chief Minister were seen in discussion and sharing lighter moments. Interestingly, state cabinet minister Azam Khan, who is considered strongly opposed to Singh, was conspicuous by his absence. However, the party leaders played down the episode terming it just mere coincidence.

Time and again Singh has blamed Khan for his expulsion from the party. Recently, Singh had taken a dig at Khan for writing a letter to the UN after the Dadri lynching incident. Singh had asked him if he was ready to go to the US again, where the UN headquarters are, where he was once "disrobed" during frisking at the JFK airport.

"Khan was frisked threadbare at JFK airport. Is he ready to go to US again, where the UN office is situated and get disrobed again?" Singh had asked recently after paying obeisance at Vindhyachal temple here. Today's event has again fanned speculation about a possible rapprochement between Singh and the party he formerly belonged to. Earlier, in July this year the SP supremo had met the Singh at the latter's residence in Gomti Nagar.

The party, however, had said it was an informal meeting and did not elaborate on what transpired between them. Singh later attended an Iftaar party hosted by CM Akhilesh at his official residence. Prior to this, in August last year, Singh had shared a dais with Mulayam for the first time in four years after a bitter parting of ways with the party, even as he had insisted no political connotation be attached to this.

Singh was invited to the programme for inauguration of a 300-acre park in memory of Samajwadi Party veteran Janeshwar Mishra where he had congratulated Mulayam and his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for developing it. He had also said he would call himself "Mulayamwadi", referring to his intimacy with the SP chief before his expulsion in 2010.

PTI