I buried Bofors file to save Rajiv Gandhi, reveals Mulayam

Lucknow: In a fresh revelation, though rather late in the day, Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday said that as Defence Minister in 1990s, he was instrumental in burying the Bofors issue as he was not convinced with the criticism of the the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on this.

'' Not only, I soft peddled the entire issue but going to the extent, made Bofors files 'disappear', he said in his address at 10th foundation day function of Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya Law University here. Adding '' there should be no act of revenge in the politics and knowing well the Bofors guns did good job at the borders, I did not want Congress to face flak on the issue.''

Also Read: Congress is in the roots of all the problems: Mulayam Singh

Driving home the point that politics was a difficult thing to do, he said people expected a lot from the politicians who had inherent responsibility of ensuring development. " You can easily understand it by the fact that you can wake up any MLA at any odd hours but same does not go with the IAS and IPS officers,'' the SP President pointed out.

Atal wanted to resign:

• Admitting , he had attacked the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for what we thought as his communal credentials.
• So Much so that even Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee desired to resign in the wake of Guajarat riots but was prevented by L K Adavani from doing so.

Mayawati was a negative CM:

• Coming down on former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, Mulayam called her as a negative CM. You will not find any other CM in whose regime not a single inch of road was built or repaired.
• In comparision, you can see the poresent regime in UP which will be marked by overall development.

Reiterating that politicians have to respond to public expectations and not work out of political vengeance, the SP Chief said if every MP, MLA and even officials ensured development of their respective areas, nothing could prevent them from doing so. He said Saifai, his native village in Etawah district, was a glaring example of the modern development, he said.

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