On birthday, Akhilesh appeals to SP workers: Contribute for Mulayam memorial in Saifai

Indian Express

20 hours ago

AS SAMAJWADI Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav marked his 52nd birthday on Tuesday, his appeal to party workers to make 'faith contributions' (funds) for the Samajwadi Party's Netaji memorial as a gift instead of organising celebrations, along with a promise to include names of all donors in a memorial booklet, has brought the upcoming memorial in his native village of Saifai in Etawah into the limelight.
Over 223 km from the state capital, the memorial will be built on the lines of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC in the United States. At present, over 150 workers are working on the memorial at the Samadhi Sthal of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav with the ground floor of the proposed three-storied building nearing completion and the work on the first floor in progress.
'This year, my humble appeal to all my well-wishers is that on the occasion of my birthday, instead of giving any kind of bouquet, statue, photo, replica of our party symbol bicycle or any other kind of gift, they should officially deposit their contributions in the party office as their 'astha anshdan' (faith contribution) for Samajwadi Smarak under construction for Netaji,' Akhilesh wrote in a post on X.
He also promised them to make public a booklet of contributions made for the memorial with their names mentioned.
'To thank you for your commitment to socialist values and your co-operation, the name of every contributor will be published in Samajwadi Smarak Sahyog Pustika,' he promised. Wary of fraud, the SP has, however, cautioned workers that no account has been officially set up for the purpose yet.
Asked about Akhilesh's appeal, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly and veteran party leader Mata Prasad Pandey said, 'The only idea is to give everyone a sense of contribution to the memorial of Netaji, it would be as small as Rs 11 to anything like Rs 51,000 or Rs 1 lakh. The main purpose is to make everyone feel connected with the memorial of their leader… that is all.'
Meanwhile, at the under-construction memorial, a senior party worker, Lakhan Singh Yadav, wearing SP cap and carrying SP flags on his bicycle, has travelled all the way from neighbouring district Kannauj to garland the bust of Mulayam Singh Yadav at his Samadhi sthal. Upon seeing him at the spot, some young SP workers were seen taking selfies with him. Unaware about Akhilesh's appeal, he says that all he wants is the memorial to be completed at the earliest so that he can visit it 'like a temple'.
What is Samajwadi Smarak?
The memorial is coming up in Saifai, the native village of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav over 18 acres. Its foundation stone was laid by SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav on November 22, 2023, to mark Mulayam's birth anniversary. The design of this memorial is inspired by the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, United States, which is built in the memory of former US President Abraham Lincoln.
Officials at the site in Saifai informed that construction is being carried out by experts from a Hyderabad-based construction agency and the main building of the memorial would be of three floors of 27 metres height. In this memorial, on the first floor, there will be a 6 metre-long statue of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
At present, the work on the basement complex has been completed, while the work on the first floor has started.
'There is a laboratory established on the ground to check the quality of the construction material being used here. The structure would be such that it can stand for at least 100 years,' he informed, adding that there would be a green garden and lawns on both sides of the pathway leading to the memorial and there would also be shops, visitor centre and museum near the entrance.