Only one corner of the bungalow was damaged, clarifies Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday sought to respond to questions on damaged sections of his official bungalow which he vacated here recently. Addressing a press conference Yadav said, “Wooden flooring along with many things in bungalow are intact. One damaged corner of house was photographed in way to make it look like house was left in a bad state.” Slamming the BJP government indirectly, the former chief minister said, “Log pyaar mein andhe hote honge par jalan aur nafrat mein andhe hote hain yeh meine dekha hai. (People may turn blind in love but I have seen people becoming blind in jealousy and hatred” His party leaders had also said the video clips were aimed at tarnishing the image of its chief as his popularity was growing after the party's success in the recent by-elections, reported news agency PTI. The Supreme Court had ruled on May 7 that the former Uttar Pradesh chief ministers cannot retain government accommodation after demitting office. The estate department had issued notices to six former chief ministers — Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kalyan Singh, Mayawati, Rajnath Singh and Akhilesh Yadav — to vacate their official bungalows in compliance with the order. SP spokesperson Sunil Sajan Singh asked why the official bungalows occupied by Rajnath Singh and Kalyan Singh were not shown to the media after they vacated them. Meanwhile, UP Governor Ram Naik asked the state government to take action over the reported damage to the bungalow vacated by Yadav, calling it a serious matter involving the taxpayer's money.