Maha Kumbh: SP installs Mulayam's idol at party camp in Sangam area

Mahakumbh Nagar (UP), Jan 12 (PTI) An idol of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav was installed at a camp in the Sangam area here on Kumbh fairground, Leader of Opposition in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey said on Sunday.

The idol, around 2-3 feet tall, was inaugurated on Saturday the Mulayam Singh Yadav Smriti Seva Sansthan Camp, headed by Sandeep Yadav.

"The idol of Netaji Mulayam Singh Yadav was inaugurated by me on Saturday. He was our leader, and the camp was organised for his thoughts and ideas," Pandey said.

"A camp, Mulayam Singh Yadav Smriti Seva Sansthan, has been set up in Sangam area. People, as well as pilgrims are welcomed to go there, have food, and stay there. A small idol of Mulyam Singh Yadav has been installed in a symbolic manner," he said.

Pandey said the idol will be restored to the party office after the Maha Kumbh, as the place gets flooded.

Asked he would be going to Kumbh, Akhilesh Yadav said he has always gone there.

"Some people go to bathe in Ganga to perform 'punya', some people go to give 'daan' and some people go to wash away their sins. We will go for 'punya' and for giving 'daan,'" he told reporter on Sunday.

SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav served as defence minister and as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh thrice.

Born on November 22, 1939 into a farming family in Saifai near Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav spawned the state's most prominent political clan.

He was elected an MLA 10 times and an MP, mostly from Mainpuri and Azamgarh, seven times. He died on October 10, 2022. PTI NAV VN VN