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Mulayam Singh Yadav: The three-time UP CM was the ‘Dhartiputra’ of national politics

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He was known as ‘Dhartiputra’ and remained a true son of the soil. His style of politics was firmly grounded and success and failure did not affect him.

Mulayam Singh Yadav was one of the last of his generation of politicians who kept his values intact and did not corporatize his politics.

For him, the last man in the line remained important – whether it was from his family, his village or his state. He was a friend of friends and even turned his foes into friends.

Mulayam Singh had first contested the Assembly election from Karhal in 1967 on Ram Manohar Lohia’s Samyukta Socialist Party ticket.

Groomed by the likes of Ram Manohar Lohia and Raj Narain, Yadav served eight terms as the member of the state Assembly.

In 1975, during Indira Gandhi’s imposition of the Emergency, Yadav was arrested and kept in custody for 19 months.

He first became a state minister in 1977. Later, in 1980, he became the president of the Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh which later became a part of the Janata Dal.

In 1982, he was elected leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and held that post until 1985. When the Lok Dal party split, Yadav launched the Krantikari Morcha party.

Mulayam Singh Yadav first became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1989.

Being a shrewd politician, he had the uncanny knack of sensing the upheavals in politics.

After the collapse of the V.P. Singh national government in November 1990, Yadav joined Chandra Shekhar’s Janata Dal (Socialist) party and continued in office as the chief minister with the support of the Congress.

His government fell when the Congress withdrew support in April 1991 and Mulayam Singh lost to the BJP in the midterm elections.

In 1992, Yadav founded his own Samajwadi Party and then allied with the Bahujan Samaj Party for the elections to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, held in November 1993.

The alliance between the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party prevented the return of the BJP to power in the state and Yadav became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh with the support of Congress and Janata Dal.

Mulayam’s stand on the movement for demanding separate statehood for Uttarakhand was as much controversial as his stand on Ayodhya movement in 1990 was.

The firing on Ayodhya activists and then Uttarakhand activists at Muzaffarnagar on October 2, 1994 remained black spots of his regime.

In 1995, the SP-BSP alliance broke with the infamous State Guest House incident but Mulayam Singh Yadav made sure that his party bounced back to power in 2003.

He was sworn in as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for the third time in September 2003.

Yadav contested the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Mainpuri while he was still Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. However, he later resigned from the Lok Sabha and continued as chief minister till 2007 when the SP lost to the BSP in the state elections.

Mulayam Singh Yadav was one of the few politicians who blatantly promoted nepotism and had no qualms about it. At any given time, there were about a dozen family members in politics in Uttar Pradesh.

“He always pushed us into politics and asked us to make a career for ourselves. It was always he who decided what was best for us and took keen interest in our careers,” said one of his nephews.

Mulayam Singh valued his friends deeply. Whether it was Beni Prasad Varma, or Azam Khan or Mohan Singh or Janeshwar Mishra – each one had a special place in his life.

His war with Balram Singh Yadav and Darshan Singh Yadav in Etawah had acquired legendary proportions, but Mulayam, over a period of time, managed to change his equations and both became his friends.

Mulayam shared a love-hate relationship with the media. His famous ‘Halla Bol’ agitation against some newspapers grabbed national headlines.

However, Mulayam made sure that his individual relationship with journalists never deteriorated. Even if he ticked off a scribe for his writing, he made sure to call out to him and mend fences at the earliest.

For party workers, he remained their beloved ‘Netaji’ – one who was always approachable and available.

“I do not remember a single occasion when I went to meet Mulayam Singh and came back without doing so. He remembered even the smallest party worker by name and it was this that endeared him to everyone,” said a senior party MLA.

Mulayam Singh Yadav was one chief minister who enjoyed full loyalty from his bureaucrats. He took tough decisions and his officers implemented them. In fact, many claim that the politicisation of bureaucracy began only after Mulayam became the chief minister.

In the past five years, after Akhilesh Yadav took over the reins of the party, Mulayam had withdrawn into a shell.

The changing dynamics in the party reduced the stream of visitors into a trickle and Mulayam – for the first time, became a lonely man.

“He would often ask us if there was anyone waiting to meet him. He loved going to the party office and relished the hustle-bustle there. At home, he had almost nothing to do and this bothered him,” said one of his close staff members.

Mulayam was disturbed by the recent happenings in his family — daughter-in-law Aparna joining the BJP, the split between son Akhilesh and brother Shivpal. He made no public mention of it but it was clear that he was deeply affected by what was happening.

The demise of his second wife Sadhana Gupta Yadav in July this year, sources say, left Mulayam distressed and lonely and this led to a deterioration in his physical condition.

National News

Ugly Fight Breaks Out Between 2 Groups Of Women As They Hit Each Other With Sticks Over Playing Music In UP’s Baghpat

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A dispute over a seemingly trivial matter escalated into a chaotic clash between two groups of women in Uttar Pradesh’s Doghat on Thursday. 

As per reports, the altercation began over playing music but tensions in the area quickly intensified when two groups of women started thrashing each other with sticks and other objects. 

A video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, shows around eight to ten women involved in a fierce brawl on a busy street. Bystanders can be seen watching in shock, with some attempting to intervene but retreating due to the intensity of the fight.

Several women were injured in the confrontation, and the footage has sparked outrage on social media. 

Reports suggest that local residents eventually managed to de-escalate the situation, but not before multiple women sustained injuries. 

Doghat police have initiated an investigation based on the video. As per reports, they are currently examining the video footage, and appropriate action will be taken following the investigation.

UP: Two burnt alive in truck collision in Fatehpur

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a truck driver and his helper were burnt alive when two trucks collided and caught fire in the Hussainganj area of Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, police said on Thursday.

The incident occurred around midnight on Wednesday on the Fatehpur-Lucknow road, Additional SP Vijay Shankar Mishra said.

Vinay Shukla (35), the driver of one of the trucks, and his helper, Ramraj Yadav (23), were burnt alive in the blaze. The occupants of the other truck managed to jump out before the fire spread, Mishra added.

Both victims were residents of Kherwa village in the Shivratanganj police station area of Amethi district. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem, Mishra said.

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National News

J&K Assembly: Scuffle Breaks Out After Engineer Rashid’s Brother Shows Article 370 Banner In House

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J&K Assembly: Scuffle Breaks Out After Engineer Rashid's Brother Shows Article 370 Banner In House

Srinagar: The proceedings of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were disrupted after a scuffle broke out in the House between National Conference and BJP MLAs.

According to reports, the House proceedings were briefly adjourned after Engineer Rashid’s brother, MLA Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh, displayed a banner about Article 370, which led to objections from BJP MLA Sunil Sharma.

Irfan Hafeez Lone displayed a banner on the restoration of Article 370 in the J&K Assembly. After a scuffle between Lone and BJP members, the House proceedings were adjourned for 15 minutes. BJP raised concerns over security, questioning how such actions were allowed.

Leader of the Opposition, Sunil Sharma, stated that under special status, some had built their own “palaces” and even cemeteries. This provoked anger from National Conference (NC) leaders. BJP members began chanting slogans in the House, while NC leaders also responded with their own slogans. The visuals of the incident have surfaced on the internet.

In the viral video, the lawmakers can be seen pushing each other on the floor of the house.

After the House resumed following the scuffle, several opposition MLAs causing disruption were physically removed by marshals and evicted from the Assembly.

Meanwhile, PDP moves a fresh resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly seeking the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A. The BJP opposed the resolution demanding its withdrawal.

Amid uproar, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly has been adjourned till Friday. The UT assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution seeking a dialogue for “restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees” to the Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution was supported by all parties except the BJP.

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National News

J&K: One Terrorist Killed During Encounter In Bandipora’s Kaitsan, Operation Underway

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Bandipora (Jammu and Kashmir): Security forces have eliminated one terrorist in the ongoing Operation Kaitsan in Bandipora, the Army officials said on Wednesday.

According to Army officials, further operation is in progress.

“OP Kaitsan, Bandipora. One terrorist has been eliminated by the security forces in the ongoing Operation. Operation is in progress,” Indian Army’s Chinar Corps said on X.

Earlier on Tuesday, a joint operation was launched by the Indian Army, Jammu & Kashmir Police, and CRPF in the general area of Chuntawadi Kaitsan, Bandipora after an encounter broke out between Security Forces and terrorists.

“Based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists in the general area of Kaitsan forest, a joint operation was launched by the Indian Army, Jammu & Kashmir Police, and CRPF in the general area of Chuntawadi Kaitsan, Bandipora. Contact was established and a firefight ensued. Operation is in progress,” Chinar Corps, Indian Army said on X.

One Terrorist Associate Apprehended

In another development on Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir police along with 22RR and 92 BN of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) apprehended one terrorist associate identified as Ashiq Hussain Wani who is a resident of Tujar Shareef in J-K’s Sopore, said police.

On November 3, twelve people, including one woman, were injured in a grenade attack at the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) and weekly market in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar on Sunday, police said.

On November 2, two terrorists were killed by security forces during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The encounter broke out after security forces initiated an anti-terrorist operation in the Halkan Gali area.

On October 29, the security forces neutralised three terrorists in a high-stakes encounter in Akhnoor, Jammu, and Kashmir, following an attack on an Army convoy.

On October 20, a doctor and six construction workers were killed when terrorists attacked a tunnel construction site on the Srinagar-Leh national highway in the Ganderbal district.

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