The Samajwadi Party leadership in Uttar Pradesh came under attack on Sunday over holding the annual festival of song and dance at the Yadav family's native village at a time when hundreds of victims of Muzaffarnagar riots were living in difficult circumstances in relief camps.
Party sources said the UP CM was "upset" over sacking on Friday of his two close aides -- Sunil Yadav alias Sajan and Anand Bhadauria.
Pictures from the Saifai Mahotsav 2016.
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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hit back at critics and defended the Saifai Mahotsav -- a festival organised by the state government -- saying the budget for the festival was around Rs six to seven crore, not Rs 300 crore as alleged by a section of the media.
"In every class, in every society, professional beggars are found. So, everyone knows that some of these beggars entered the riot camps," the former MP said.
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The Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress on Thursday slammed the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh for holding celebrations at party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's native village of Saifai while the victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots reportedly suffer under adverse weather conditions at relief camps in the state.
Live coverage of a cultural extravaganza in Etawah in the ancestral Saifai village of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has been prohibited by the district administration.
The idea is to reinforce Mulayam's 'dhartiputra' or son-of-the-soil image, say party sources.
Who would be footing bill for what was supposedly a "family affair" could be anybody's guess.
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