Samajwadi Party legislators in Uttar Pradesh are now clamouring for Cabinet reshuffle.
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav’s repeated statements that he is dissatisfied with the performance of a section of ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav had added fuel to the fire.
Two separate groups of SP MLAs held dinner meeting two days ago and discussed the issue.
Talking to this correspondent on condition of anonymity, a SP MLA said, “This government has completed 10 months in office and we can no longer blame the previous BSP regime for all that is going wrong. It is time that the non-performing ministers are replaced with young blood. Netaji (Mulayam Singh) has expressed his anger on the performance of the government and his words cannot be taken lightly.”
The legislators want that younger generation must be given a chance to prove their mettle and the elders in the government could take on the role of a mentor.
“We have a young chief minister whose presence has raised the hopes of the youth in the state. He should be allowed to pick a younger team for himself. The ‘uncles’ in the government should now start working for the Lok Sabha elections and leave the matters of the government to us,” said another legislator.
The MLAs feel that the Akhilesh Yadav government is not making the expected impact because the chief minister is not being allowed to come out of the shadow of the veterans in his council of ministers. “The chief minister, out of respect, does not interfere in the working of the senior ministers and this is paving the way for the emergence of multiple power centres. The day Akhilesh is allowed to wield the baton freely, the government will start making an impact,” said the MLA. The legislators, according to sources, are planning to meet Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav next week and apprise him of their sentiments. “This is not a revolt but we do feel strongly about the issue. The party president is aware of the issue and that is why he has been repeatedly warning the ministers at party meetings. If we allow the prevailing situation to continue, the party will face the consequences in the next Lok Sabha elections which could be held earlier than expected. We must immediately pull up our socks and bring the government back on rails,” the legislators said.