Akhilesh, senior SP leaders pay tribute to Mulayam Singh Yadav on third death anniversary
Etawah/ Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and several senior party leaders on Friday paid floral tribute to party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav at his native village, Saifai, on his third death anniversary.
Prominent party leaders, including Shivpal Yadav, Rajya Sabha MPs Ram Gopal Yadav and Ramji Lal Suman, and several others attended the memorial event.
The Congress party also paid tributes to the late leader.
Speaking to reporters on the occasion, Akhilesh Yadav said that the site would soon house a memorial dedicated to "Netaji" (Mulayam Singh Yadav).
"This will be a memorial for all socialists and it will continue to inspire generations. Through the memorial, Netaji will live on in our lives in the form of his ideas," Akhilesh said.
Earlier, Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman told PTI Videos that Mulayam Singh Yadav held a significant place in India's socialist movement.
"I do not see it as an achievement that he became defence minister or chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. When all socialist factions merged into the Janata Party in 1977, the socialist movement practically ended in India. But in 1992, Mulayam Singh Yadav united socialists across the country to form the Samajwadi Party," he said.
Suman added that as long as "helplessness, unemployment, and inequality" exist in the world, socialist ideology will remain relevant.
"Whether history writes four pages or four lines about him, he will forever be remembered in India's socialist movement," he said.
Senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav, who is also Mulayam Singh Yadav's brother, said that his support base extended far beyond his party.
"Throughout his life, Netaji never turned away anyone who sought his help, even from other parties. I am a witness to it that whenever he was chief minister, he clearly instructed his secretary that if anyone, whether from the BJP, Congress or BSP, came for genuine work or those concerned to their relatives, they should be helped without delay," he recalled.
"He fought for the poor and gave respect to the deprived sections of the society. Those who didn't know the way to Delhi, he made them Members of Parliament; those unfamiliar with Lucknow, he made them MLAs," Ram Gopal Yadav said, adding that Mulayam Singh gave the marginalised "the dignity to walk with their heads held high."
While the main ceremony was held at Netaji's memorial in Saifai, Samajwadi Party workers and leaders across the districts remembered the late leader with reverence.
At the party's state headquarters in Lucknow, national secretary and former Cabinet minister Rajendra Chaudhary paid homage to Mulayam Singh by garlanding his portrait. Several senior leaders were also present.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Congress' state headquarters said that Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Rai paid tribute to "the pioneer of socialist ideology, former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, on his death anniversary"
On the occasion, Ajay Rai said that Mulayam Singh Yadav was a grassroots leader who raised the voice of the poor, farmers, labourers, and backward classes. His political life was inspired by the spirit of social justice and equality, Rai said.
Mulayam Singh Yadav (1939-2022), founder of the Samajwadi Party, was a three-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister and former defence minister of India.
A veteran socialist leader inspired by Ram Manohar Lohia, he was known for his deep grassroots connect and backward class mobilisation.
Over his five-decade political career, Yadav served multiple terms as both MLA and MP. He passed away on October 10, 2022, at the age of 82. His last rites were done at his native village, Saifai.
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Muslim organisations seek restoration of 2B reservation, place 10 demands before govt
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Rajya Muslim Sanghatanegala Okkoota has placed 10 major demands before the state government at the ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’, including the restoration of reservation for Muslims under Category 2B of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and the repeal or amendment of the anti-cow slaughter law and the withdrawal of the anti-conversion law.
Presenting the demands in his keynote address at the convention organised by the federation at Town Hall in Bengaluru on Saturday, social activist Muhammad Yaseen Malpe said the Congress government had promised to withdraw the order issued by the previous BJP government banning hijab for Muslim girl students. He said the restriction remained in force until the date of the convention was announced and thanked the government for withdrawing it.
On reservation, Yaseen Malpe said the Congress government has not restored the reservation for Muslims under Category 2B, which was abolished by the previous BJP government in 2023, despite being in power for three years. He said that although the Supreme Court of India had stayed the order abolishing the reservation, no legislative steps have been taken to restore it, and urged the government to do so at the earliest.
Referring to the anti-conversion law, he said the state cabinet had decided on June 15, 2023 to repeal the legislation introduced by the BJP government. However, he noted that no Bill to withdraw the law has yet been introduced in the Legislative Assembly. He said the law, which he described as intended to harass minorities and curtail religious freedom, continues to remain in force and demanded that it be withdrawn immediately.
On the anti-cow slaughter law, he said the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020 had become a “death warrant” for farmers, labourers, meat traders and cattle transporters and alleged that it was enacted with the sole intention of targeting Muslims. He demanded that the law be repealed or amended without delay.
Yaseen Malpe said the Congress had promised in its election manifesto to allocate Rs 10,000 crore annually for minority welfare. However, he pointed out that only around Rs 4,762 crore has been earmarked in the 2026-27 Budget, which he said was less than half of the promised amount. He urged the government to fully implement the commitment in the coming years.
On waqf properties, he alleged that large-scale encroachment, illegal transfers, undervalued leases and weak administration continue to affect waqf assets. He said the government had not done satisfactory work in recovering, developing and ensuring accountability in respect of waqf properties. He also expressed dissatisfaction that the state government had not clearly opposed the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 and called for a concrete plan to protect waqf properties.
Regarding the caste survey, he said neither the caste census report of the Kantharaj Commission nor the report of the survey conducted under the leadership of Madhusudhan R. Naik has been tabled in the legislature. He said this had stalled important reforms relating to reservation and welfare and alleged that the government had caused great injustice and disappointment to backward classes, Dalits, minorities and other weaker sections.
On hate speech, hate crimes and hate campaigns, he said incidents targeting Muslims, including mob violence, moral policing and economic boycotts, continue to occur. He said repeated offenders were not facing effective legal action and urged the government to take necessary steps.
On political representation, Yaseen Malpe said Muslims remain underrepresented in the Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council, corporations and boards, universities, commissions and local bodies. He noted that Muslims constitute around 13 per cent of Karnataka’s population, but only 19 of the Congress party’s 136 MLAs are Muslims. He also said that since this government came to power, only one Muslim had been given an opportunity in the selection to 15 seats in the Legislative Council.
He further stated that not a single Muslim heads any of the state’s major government medical institutions and demanded representation for Muslims in legislative bodies and key government institutions in proportion to their population.
On education, he said the government had undertaken some positive measures for Muslim students and expressed gratitude for them. However, he said substantial work remains to be done in staff recruitment, staff deployment, curriculum coverage, proper disbursal of scholarships and hostel capacity. He also pointed out that the condition of Maulana Azad Schools is highly concerning in several places.
On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, he demanded that the Karnataka Legislative Assembly pass a resolution opposing the exercise, which he said had adversely affected minorities in Bihar and West Bengal. He urged the government to ensure that SIR is not implemented in Karnataka and that no voter is deprived of the right to vote.
