New Delhi, Oct 10 (PTI) The Congress condoled Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s death on Monday, saying it is an irreparable loss to Indian politics.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the voice of socialist ideas has fallen silent with Yadav’s death.
Yadav (82) breathed his last at a Gurugram hospital on Monday after a prolonged illness.
As the defence minister of the country and the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the SP patriarch’s contributions will remain unforgettable, Sonia Gandhi said in her message.
“More than that, his struggle for the oppressed and downtrodden will always be remembered,” she added.
Whenever there was a need to protect constitutional values, the Congress always got Yadav’s support, Sonia Gandhi said.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh condoled Yadav’s death, describing him as an icon of the socialist movement who devoted his entire life to the service of the poor and other backward communities.
In a letter to Yadav’s son and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, Singh said the SP founder was a leader of high esteem and was respected by everyone, cutting across party lines.
“He (Yadav) was an icon of the socialist movement and had been elected to the Uttar Pradesh state Assembly and the Lok Sabha several times,” the veteran Congress leader said.
Yadav served as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and also as a Union minister many times, he noted.
“He (Yadav) was a great parliamentarian and a distinguished administrator who devoted his whole life to the service of the poor and other backward communities,” Singh said.
Condoling Yadav’s death, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he was a “true warrior” of grassroots politics. The former Congress chief also attended a condolence meeting, organised during his party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, to grieve the SP patriarch’s death.
Yadav, who was born in a farming family and went on to spawn the state’s most prominent political clan, died after a prolonged illness.
The former defence minister was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram on October 2.
“The death of Shri Mulayam Singh Yadavji is very sad news. He was a true warrior of grassroots politics,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
“I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved family members, including Shri Akhilesh Yadav,” he added.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Yadav’s unparalleled contribution to Indian politics as the defence minister of the country and the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh will always be remembered.
“My deepest condolences to Akhilesh Yadav and all other loved ones,” she said in a tweet in Hindi. Priyanka Gandhi also spoke to Akhilesh Yadav over the phone and conveyed her condolences to the SP president.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Yadav was a stalwart Lohiaite but had admirers across the political spectrum.
“His tenures as CM of UP were very consequential. He played a key national role on 2 occasions: Deve Gowda and Gujral govts as Defence Min, and in 2002 when he proposed APJ Abdul Kalam for President,” the former Union minister said in a tweet.
The Congress, on its official Twitter handle, said: “The death of Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav, the patron of Samajwadi Party, former Defence Minister of the country and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, is an irreparable loss to Indian politics.” Senior Congress leader and the party’s presidential poll contender Shashi Tharoor offered condolences to Akhilesh Yadav on his father’s death.
“I had met the former Defence Minister at the @UN and subsequently exchanged thoughts with him at the Lok Sabha. A political giant has passed. A great loss to all Indians. OM Shanti,” the former diplomat said in a tweet.
Tharoor, who was supposed to travel to Lucknow on Monday as part of his Congress presidential poll campaign, cancelled his programme as a mark of respect to the departed leader.
Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also contesting the Congress presidential poll, said whenever there is a discussion on parliamentary traditions in the country, Yadav will definitely be remembered.
“His passing is a great loss to the socialist ideology and the politics of the country,” Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi.
Yadav was admitted to a hospital in August and was shifted to the ICU of the Medanta Hospital on October 2.
Born on November 22, 1939, Yadav was elected as an MLA 10 times and as an MP, mostly from Mainpuri and Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, seven times. PTI ASK RC
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