CM Yogi Adityanath had said recently that the state of UP is no longer known for the infamous Saifai festival, but it now hosts major cultural events like the Ayodhya Deepotsav and the Divya Kumbh. During the Samajwadi Party regime, the Saifai festival, organized annually at the Saifai village, the seat of the Mulayam Singh Yadav clan in Etawah district, had often made headlines, for the wrong reasons.

For a state struggling to provide the basic necessities like roads, power supply, jobs, road transport, and food, the annual extravagance and festivities with the taxpayers’ money were seen as a vulgar display of power and family politics.

Akhilesh Yadav brought more film stars after ascending to state power in 2012

In March 2012, Akhilesh Yadav became the chief minister of the state. Soon after that, the whole state machinery was deployed in the preparations of this festival scheduled in December 2012. This festival included the performance of popular artists like singer Kailash Kher and poet Munawwar Rana. Stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma was accompanied by Pakistani comedian Irfan Ali Hasan. Singer Sapna Mukharji and dancer Shyamak Dawar were also the ones among the key attractions of the festival that year.

These performances were coupled with even bigger star performances like singing performances by Bollywood singer Shaan and dance numbers by Hrithik Roshan who was also felicitated and awarded after his performance. Not to forget, everything in this 14-day festival was paid for by the state. However, during Mayawati’s regime from 2007 to 2012, the glamour around the festival was somewhat reduced, maybe due to the lack of power.

The grandeur of the festival increased in 2013 despite the Muzaffarnagar riots

In 2013, violent and brutal riots had happened in Muzaffarnagar. Relief camps were set for the victims of the riots. As the festival was scheduled in December, it was right in the middle of a cold wave. Children and kids were dying in those relief camps and the government along with its ministers and officials was busy organizing and enjoying the festival that included popular songs and dance numbers. NGOs and people from the relief camps in Shahpur village kept crying but none was listened to. Entertaining the party leaders and their grand family was far more important for the whole system rather than saving the riot victims who were shivering in cold. When people were seeking help to save their lives, ministers were busy responding to the jokes cracked by the star comedians.

When Mulayam Singh Yadav’s attention was drawn towards the fact, he dodged the question by terming it as a rumor. Mulayam Singh Yadav had then claimed that this was a move by the BJP to malign the image of the Samajwadi Party and its government in the state. Adding to this, the chief secretary of the state went on to make a controversial statement wherein he had said that nobody dies of cold.

The Saifai festival would be organized as an initiative to save the rural and folk culture and promote local art. But in reality, there was nothing folk or rural, instead, it catered typical Bollywood entertainment to the ministers and officers spending the government funds. There were Qawwali sessions, stand-up comedy performances, Bollywood dance, and singing shows. Rather than rural and folk artists, celebrities from the cinema were the key attractions of this festival. Besides, there used to be a cycle marathon, wrestling competition, and kids singing program.

As the festival advanced in the month of January 2014, so did increase the antisocial activities of the goon of the SP. There emerged a ruckus in the middle of the ongoing Saifai festival and the police slightly used the force to control the mob. But leave alone settling down, the public started beating the police back. This was the condition of law and order in Uttar Pradesh under Akhilesh Yadav.

The police complained about this unexpected violent behavior of the people to the CM but nothing happened as all of them belonged to the native village of the state’s ruler.

Hundreds of crores spent for Bollywood stars while UP lacked basic necessities

In 2014, around Rs.334 Cr was spent on this festival out of which Rs. 100 Cr was spent on the Bollywood night alone. Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit were also among the guests. At the other end of the state in Muzaffarnagar, victims of the riots staying in relief camps were dying in the cold.

Back in Saifai, Mulayam Singh Yadav was saying that there is nobody in the relief camps and everyone there had gone back to their homes. Arrangements of dining and accommodations were made for more than 1000 VVIP guests. More than 400 officers and other staff from the government were deployed for the organization of this festival.

It was the festival that witnessed more than 85 takeoffs and landings of helicopters in a matter of a few days. It took a total of 9 airplanes to bring the VVIPs and guests to this festival. This year Ranveer Singh and Mallika Sherawat were the main attractions.

The next edition of this festival was organized in December 2015. Mulayam Singh Yadav inaugurated the program. This was the 18th Saifai Festival which is organized in the memory of Ranveer Singh Yadav, nephew of Mulayam Singh Yadav. The festival had everything from Ghazal sessions to light and sound shows. Lisa Hayden, Ranveer Singh, and Hrithik Roshan were among the invitees while Boman Irani, Huma Quraishi, singer Arijit Singh, Parineeti Chopra, Jaqueline Fernandes, Sushant Singh, Vaani Kapoor, Richa Chadhdha, Lorin D’souza were the participating performers.

The festival added more glamour in 2016 when actresses like Sonam Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan took part in the performances along with Ranveer Singh. The Bollywood couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan were offered a ‘Royal Feast’ by the government. Singer Ankit Tiwari performed at the festival. People had an opportunity to move steps onto the rhythm beats with Arjun Kapoor. Sonakshi Sinha and Mika Singh shared the stage for performances. Ranveer Singh took it a step further. He was seen falling flat on the feet of Mulayam Singh Yadav. It is notable that even in this festival, people threw away the chairs and made a ruckus with the police force on the spot.

Bollywood celebrities were ferried on chartered flights.

In fact, there were performances by artists like Javed Ali, Ali Abram, Karishma Tanna, Sunil Grover, Ashraf Ali, and Uday Singh Gouri. There were a ruckus and law and order issues at the festival in 2014. The police lathi-charged.

In 2017, the Yadav family was entangled in domestic disputes, and hence the festival was not organized. The same year, the state witnessed a change in the government and since then, the Saifai Mahotsav came to an abrupt stop.

The Saifai festival had started in 1997. Mulayam’s nephew Ranveer Singh Yadav used to be the main organizer of this festival who passed away in 2002. After his death, this festival is being organized in his memory every year. His son Tej Pratap Yadav now looks after the organizing part. He was elected as the MP from the Mainpuri constituency in 2014 at the age of 26. This Lok Sabha seat used to be the home ground for Mulayam Singh Yadav. Tej Pratap Yadav is married to Rajlakshmi Yadav who is the daughter of Lalu Prasad Yadav.

References:

opindia.com - Gopal Tiwari