Serve people instead of concentrating on making money: Mulayam to SP leaders

Lalitpur: With Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh apparently weighing heavily on his mind, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday bluntly told his party leaders to serve the people instead of concentrating RPT concentrating on making money.

He also took District Magistrates to task on illegal mining at various places in the state, where Assembly elections are due in early 2017.

"Those in politics, instead of serving the people, are doing business. It has crossed limits. Has anyone seen any member of my family taking contracts, if so tell me," Yadav said.

He was addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the first 660 MW unit of 1980 MW supercritical thermal power plant commissioned by Lalitpur Power Generation Co Ltd (LPGCL), a part of Shishir Bajaj led-Bajaj Group.

"Ours is a party of poor, principles and not those who only concentrate on earning money," he said.

The SP supremo said, "There are certain very serious issues, which I am telling and I want to warn. Illegal mining is continuing unabated and I have got all the information. The DMs will be held responsible if illegal mining takes place. Even leaders involved in it will be sent to jail."

His reference was to Bundelkhand region, which is notorious for illegal mining.

"I am the national president of SP. We want to present an ideal in the country that SP is not a party which indulges in corruption or give and take," he said.

Yadav said that on the question of farmers, SP was the lone party which raised its voice against land acquisition against erstwhile Congress-led UPA government.

"It was our MP who tore the copy of the bill in Parliament," he said.