Akhilesh drops out of India Today conclave

Uttar Pradesh’s new Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Thursday dropped out of the India Today conclave 2012 because of official engagements.

“Akhilesh Yadav is now not attending the India Today conclave. He has cited official engagements,” the India Today Conclave desk said in an official statement.

Akhilesh Yadav, who was sworn in as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Thursday, was scheduled to address a session, Changing the Game, about young leadership at the conclave March 17.

At 38, he is the youngest chief minister of India’s most populous state.

On Wednesday, Pakistan politician Imran Khan called off his participation because he did not want share a dais with “The Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie.