Akhilesh and Shivpal say 'Hum Saath-Saath Hain', vouch for unity

Flanked by his uncle, senior cabinet minister and newly appointed state party President Shivpal Singh Yadav and senior minister Mohd Azam Khan , the UP CM had a brief talk with the media person at secretariat annexe before the cabinet meeting.

This was incidentally the first instance after the political upheaval in the state when Akhilesh and Shivpal were seen together, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet meeting becoming the rallying point.

Speaking on the occasion, Shiv Pal said there was no heart-burn among the party folks and every controversy has found a logical end. Azam, however, chose to be non-committal on the recent controversies when he jokingly remarked ''at least, spare me. I will follow what others in the party will ask me to do.''

Akhilesh said that the Samajwadi 'pariwar' will remain as before we will continue to strive to disseminate the message of development among the people and spread the achievements of the government.

The statement of Akhilesh assumes significance as it was only a day before when Shiv Pal, as state party chief, sacked seven senior youth leaders of the party, all considered close to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. It followed a slew of resignations from the office bearers of various youth organisations of the party which ,incidentally, were accepted by the party.