New Delhi: As Seven MLAs - one from BJP and six suspended from BSP - joined the Samajwadi Party on Saturday in presence of Akhilesh Yadav, the party chief once again hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and also claimed BJP and Congress “are the same”.


“The people of the state are so agitated that the BJP will be wiped out in the coming days and Bhajpa pariwar (BJP family) will appear as Bhaagta Pariwar (runaway family),” the Samajwadi Party president said in Lucknow, as quoted by news agency PTI.


While taunting the ruling BJP over its MLA Rakesh Rathore’s desertion, he indicated that some others from the saffron party were also in touch with him in the poll-bound state.


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The new inductees in the SP - BJP MLA from Sitapur Rakesh Rathore and BSP rebels Aslam Raini (Shrawati), Sushma Patel (Madiyahon), Aslam Ali (Hapur), Hakim Lal Bind (Handia), Mujtaba Siddiqui (Phoolpur) and Hargovind Bhargava (Sidhauli) - expressed their resolve to make Akhilesh Yadav the chief minister again in the coming Uttar Pradesh election.


Earlier this year, a purported audio clip of Rathore criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for asking people to clap and clang bells and plates during the COVID-19 pandemic had gone viral on social media. Following this, he was asked by the BJP leadership to explain his alleged anti-party activities.


Meanwhile, the BSP rebels who joined the SP were suspended by president Mayawati after they had opposed the nomination of the party’s official candidate Ramji Gautam for the Rajya Sabha in October 2020. 


They were believed to have met Akhilesh Yadav earlier this year and had hinted that they may switch sides soon.



Akhilesh Yadav Targets BJP On Poll Promises


Speaking at party headquarters in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav also took a swipe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for claiming that 90 per cent works of the BJP manifesto have been completed and the 10 per cent remaining in the ‘lok kalyan sankalp patra’ will be taken up in the next few months.


It seems that the BJP leaders have not shuffled its pages and have forgotten about what all was there in their manifesto, the SP chief remarked.


“The first thing mentioned in it was for the farmers that a roadmap to double their income will be prepared by 2022 and they assured farmers in this regard from various platforms. I want to know what has happened to it,” he said, reading out from the BJP’s 2017 manifesto, and asked about the fate of other poll promises also.


Distancing himself from the party’s former ally Congress, Akhilesh Yadav said: “The opinion of Samajwadis for the Congress and BJP is that both are the same”.


He also contested the claims of improved law and order situation, adding that the statistics of the Government of India and services like Dial 100 and 1090 will clear the picture about the cases of injustice against the girls.


Pointing to the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, Akhilesh said that a BJP minister was seen threatening the people in a video and said that this very minister is “being honoured on the dais with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah”.


He also accused the BJP of ruining educational institutions by posting people of a particular ideology.


Instead of carrying out development works, the budget was being spent on publicity, the former UP CM alleged.


He sought to know how many youths got jobs after the investment meet held in Uttar Pradesh, questioning the outcome of the event.


“Those who came here seeking jobs were chased away using canes and humiliated. Now, these youth will cast their votes to wipe out BJP,” he claimed.


(With Agency Inputs)