Shivpal Yadav on Mukhtar Ansari's brother joining SP: 'Mafias should not be taken'

Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) founder Shivpal Yadav on Wednesday said no members of the 'mafia' should be allowed into the Samajwadi Party. Yadav went on to claim that no such entry was allowed in the party while he was a part of the Akhilesh Yadav-led outfit. Yadav's comment came after he was asked about the don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sigbatullah Ansari joining the SP recently.

'Mafias should not be taken into SP,' says Shivpal Yadav 

Shivpal Yadav had earlier quit the Samajwadi Party and formed his own party due to his differences with his nephew Akhilesh Yadav. Now, the leader has come forward to criticise the Akhilesh Yadav-led outfit’s new entry permissions. Yadav claimed that no members of the mafia were allowed into the party while he served as the state president.

"The mafia never came to the Samajwadi Party (SP). Mafias should not be taken. I had also not taken any. I was the state president and no mafia came to us. We never took Mukhtar Ansari," Shivpal Yadav told reporters in a meeting.

After being asked about don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sigbatullah Ansari joining the SP, Yadav pointed out that Sigbatullah Ansari and Afzal Ansari were part of the SP. "I took Sigbatullah Ansari and Afzal Ansari in the SP but later they had to leave the SP," he said in reference to Akhilesh Yadav, who was against their joining the party in 2016.

Meanwhile, Shivpal Yadav replied positively when asked about a possible return to the SP. "If I get due honour, I would consider returning to the Samajwadi family," Yadav said. The leader also went on to allege that corruption in the state has increased five times under the present BJP regime.

BJP slams Sigbatullah Ansari’s induction to SP

Following the induction of Sigbatullah Ansari to the party, BJP attacked Akhilesh Yadav over the new recruit and his criminal links. Slamming the party for taking Mukhtar Ansari's brother into the party, BJP said that SP cannot run without the help of mafias. “This is the real face of the Samajwadi Party. They want to be in power at any cost even if that means shaking hands with mafia Mukhtar Ansari’s family. They should not forget who the Chief Minister of UP is,” the UP unit of the BJP tweeted.

However, reacting to the allegations, SP national spokesperson Juhie Singh said that there was nothing wrong in welcoming Sibghatullah Ansari into the party as someone who represents his constituency as a leader. Singh said that it was wrong to associate the crimes of a person with his entire family. Sibghatullah Ansari’s brother Mukhtar Ansari, a BSP leader and five-time MLA from Mau, is currently in jail. The Ansari family is known for having sizeable influence in eastern UP districts such as Ghazipur, Ballia, Mau, Azamgarh and Varanasi. Sibghatullah’s other brother Afzal Ansari is a BSP MP from Ghazipur.

IMAGE: PTI