Saharanpur (UP), Nov 2 Bahujan Samaj Party national coordinator Akash Anand on Monday attacked both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Samajwadi Party, accusing them of presiding over “jungle raj” in Uttar Pradesh.
He also described the Samajwadi Party as the BJP’s “B-team”.
Addressing a public meeting in Sorana village here, Anand said Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav lacked political direction and frequently changed his position on social groups he fights for.
“Akhilesh Yadav has no clear political direction. Sometimes he talks about Brahmins under the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) formula and sometimes about backward communities,” he said.
Referring to Samajwadi Party’s nomination of Dhanraj Nathwani, son of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani, to the Rajya Sabha, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that Akhilesh Yadav was a friend who helped him from time to time, Anand said the Samajwadi Party is the “B-team of the BJP”.
Taking a swipe at the BJP government, Anand remarked, “Uttar Pradesh has a double-engine government, so it consumes more fuel.”
He alleged that the state had witnessed “jungle raj” under both the BJP and Samajwadi Party governments.
Targeting the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government, Anand said it was often described as an “encounter government” but the state’s crime figures presented a different picture.
“Uttar Pradesh ranks number one in the country in the registration of murder cases. The number of cases of atrocities against women is also the highest in the state,” he claimed.
He said people wanted three basic things from the government — security, employment and education — but alleged that the BJP had failed to provide these over the last 10 years.
“Neither could the BJP government provide education, nor security to our women and daughters, nor employment to our youth,” he said.
Criticising the government over examination paper leaks, he alleged that it was not taking adequate steps to prevent question papers of NEET and other national-level examinations from being leaked.
“The government does not have the money to stop paper leaks. And if the papers are not leaked, the government will have to conduct recruitments and provide jobs,” he said, slamming the government.
He claimed that candidates from his community accounted for a large share of applicants for government jobs, but paper leaks were being used to keep them away from employment and prevent them from becoming self-reliant.
Anand further claimed that no new schools had been opened in Uttar Pradesh in the last 10 years, while more than 25,000 schools had closed down. He described slogans such as “Padhega India, Badhega India” as propaganda.
Alleging that the government had spent more than Rs 7,000 crore of taxpayers’ money on advertisements projecting Uttar Pradesh as developed and safe, he said the expenditure was aimed at concealing its failures.
The BSP leader also said people from all communities, including Gujjars and Jats, were dedicated workers of the party and regarded BSP president Mayawati as their leader.
He said the BSP movement sought to take all communities along, and Mayawati had devoted her life to following the path shown by party founder Kanshi Ram.
(PTI News)
