Who was Mulayam Singh Yadav?
The veteran leader was also known for his controversial remarks. The crime of rape became a capital offence in India following the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident. Yadav has opposed this change in the law, saying that "Boys will be boys. Boys commit mistakes''.
FollowSamajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday (October 10) passed away. The veteran politician died after spending several days in the ICU of Medanta hospital in Gurugram, where his condition was critical.
Mulayam Singh Yadav was the founder-patron of the Samajwadi Party (SP). He served for three non-consecutive terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and also served as the Minister of Defence. He was often referred to as Netaji (meaning respected leader in Hindi) by party leaders and workers.
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The veteran SP leader was born on November 22, 1939 in Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh. According to various reports, Yadav has three degrees in political science — a B.A. from Karm Kshetra Post Graduate College in Etawah, a BT from AK College in Shikohabad, and an MA from BR College, Agra University. Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Lucknow.
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During his first term as the chief minister, Yadav joined Chandra Shekhar's Janata Dal (Socialist) party and continued in office as chief minister with the support of the Indian National Congress (INC). His government fell when the INC withdrew their support in April 1991 in the aftermath of developments at the national level where it has earlier withdrawn its support for Chandra Shekhar's government.
In 1992, during his second term as CM, Yadav founded his own Samajwadi Party (Socialist Party). In 1993, he allied with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for the elections to Uttar Pradesh assembly due to be held in November 1993. The alliance between SP and BSP prevented the return of BJP to power in the state.
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In 2002, following a fluid post-election situation in the state, the BJP and BSP joined to form a government under Dalit leader Mayawati, who was considered to be Yadav's greatest political rival in the state. The BJP pulled out of the government on August 25, 2003, and enough rebel legislators of the BSP left to allow Yadav to become the Chief Minister
The veteran leader was also known for his controversial remarks. The crime of rape became a capital offence in India following the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident. Yadav has opposed this change in the law, saying that "Boys will be boys. Boys commit mistakes''.
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In response to 2014 Badaun gang rape and Yadav's comments, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said "We say no to the dismissive, destructive attitude of, "'Boys will be boys'".
