Farooq Abdullah condoles Mulayam Singh Yadav's death, says ‘he was people's leader’

Former Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, condoled the demise of veteran politician and Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. He said that Singh was a people’s leader and devoted his life to the welfare of poor people.

“He used to respect all religions and fight for all religions. There's no person in India who would not be grieved on this day,” he said, as quoted by ANI.

Mulayam Singh passed away at Gurugram's Medanta Hospital due to age-related ailments. He was 82 years old. Singh was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital on last Sunday after his health deteriorated. He is survived by two sons, Akhilesh and Prateek.

Mulayam Singh Yadav had seen Uttar Pradesh go through many ups and downs during his five-decade-long career and remained almost synonymous with the politics of the state. Fondly called "Netaji", he was well-versed in the politics of the most populous state of India.

Born on November 22, 1939, in Saifai village of Etawah district, Mulayam Singh rose quickly in politics and became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh thrice; he also served in the Union Government once as the Defence Minister.

He was elected 10 times as MLA and 7 times as Lok Sabha MP. His career began when he was elected MLA in 1967 at the age of 28. He founded the Samajwadi Party on October 4, 1992, and soon turned it into a regional party based in Uttar Pradesh. His son Akhilesh Yadav took over the reins of the party later and is now its president.