Samajwadi founder Mualayam Singh Yadav passes away
Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party founder and three-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, died this morning after weeks in hospital. He was 82.
The Samajwadi Party quoted Mulayam Singh’s son Akhilesh Yadav as saying: “My respected father and everyone’s Neta-ji has died.”
Mulayam Singh had been critical for days and had been on life-saving drugs at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. He was to turn 83 in six weeks.
“Mulayam Singh Yadav’s death pains me; he was a remarkable personality and was widely admired as a humble and grounded leader,” wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of the first to post his tribute.
“He was a remarkable personality, widely admired as a humble and grounded leader,” he said.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Aditanath said he felt deep sorrow and announced three-day state mourning in the state.
Many leaders visited Mulayam Singh in hospital in his final days.
Though he had been away from active politics for a while, with his son Akhilesh leading the party since 2017, he was counted among prominent opposition forces in the country. For the Samajwadi Party, he remained “Neta-ji” – a term that even his son used for him.