Happy that Congress is promoting new leaders: Akhilesh Yadav on Priyanka's appointment

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday welcomed the appointment of Priyanka Gandhi as a Congress General Secretary. Talking to reporters after hoisting the national flag at the Janeshwar Mishra Park here, he said he was happy that the Congress too was promoting new leaders. Yadav's remarks came three days after Priyanka Gandhi's appointment as General Secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh. He expressed the hope that this decision will strengthen the Congress in Uttar Pradesh at the grassroots level. "We socialists are always happy when new people are introduced in politics," he said. The 45-year-old, however, parried questions on the possibility of possible friendship with the Congress. The Samajwadi Party recently sealed an electoral alliance with one-time arch rival BSP, leaving the Congress out in the cold.

(With inputs from agencies.)