Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has finally developed what very few politicians have – a sense of humour and the ability to laugh at himself.
The chief minister will be releasing a book titled Tipu ka Afsana on March 14. The book is a compilation of cartoons that have been made on the chief minister. Tipu, incidentally, is the nickname of Mr Akhilesh Yadav and the cartoons in the book chronicle his journey as a politician.
“The chief minister is very fond of cartoons and even stores them in his phone if he likes one. The idea of compiling them in a book came from Mr Yadav himself. We have tried to compile as many cartoons as possible though some could not be included due to copyright issues”, says Frank Huzur, a writer, who has got the book together.
Interestingly, majority of the cartoons that Akhilesh has approved for the book are the ones that take potshots at the government and his decisions as chief minister. Cartoon that strikes at the chief minister include the frequent U-turns that he takes on his policies, sheltering the goons and mafia, Muzaffarnagar riots and the Sefai Mahotsav. All these have been highlighted in the book through cartoons.
There is even a cartoon on the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal that earned the Akhilesh government a great deal of flak and earned the title of ‘Sandwadi Party’ for the ruling party. In another cartoon, there is a comment on the growing family participation and Uttar Pradesh has been renamed as ‘Puttar Pradesh’.
UP minister Abhishek Misra, who is a part of Team Akhilesh, said that this reflected the true Samajwadi ideology where one is willing to take criticism with praise and accept adversity. “In some cartoons, it is evident that information has not properly filtered down to the cartoonist on a particular issue but the chief minister has even appreciated that. In fact, he appreciates the creativity that goes into the making of the cartoon”, he added.
