Mulayam fails to turn up in Noida, Shivpal fills in

The hype and fanfare surrounding Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's maiden visit to Noida after the party was elected to power in the state fell flat on Wednesday as he failed to turn up.

He was scheduled to speak at the Akhil Bharatiya Gurjjar Mahasabha held in Hajipur village.

Organisers of the Mahasabha said Yadav expressed his inability to attend the function late Tuesday night as he had some engagements in Delhi.

However, since the purpose of the visit was to consolidate farmer votes in the area, Mulayam Singh Yadav's brother and UP Irrigation and PWD Minister Shivpal Yadav chipped in as the guest of honour at the Mahasabha.

The Mahasabha saw a huge turn-out with nearly 4,000 Gurjjars from Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and some even from Pakistan, coming to Hajipur.

Speaking at the function, Shivpal said the SP would stand by the community in their fight for reservation.

"I have received a list of demands from the leaders of the Mahasabha and I want to assure you that the government will look into them. The matter of setting up a university, which the community has been asking for, will be taken up after consultation with the Chief Minister. We will also table the Renuka Commission report on denotified classes in Parliament, and will ask for its recommendations to be implemented. We stand with you on the matter of reservation for the Gurjjar community," he said.

The Mahasabha is being held on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Yadav said the "Iron Man" was one of the tallest leaders that the country had.

"If Patel had been made the Prime Minister immediately after Independence, then the country would have been very different," Yadav said.

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