‘A for Akhilesh, D for Dimple’: PDA Pathshala row rocks UP politics

With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly session commencing Monday, political tempers are already flaring. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) locked horns over the “PDA Pathshala” controversy, sparking an early war of words.

A complaint has been filed in Saharanpur after children at an ”illegal PDA Pathshala” (school) were taught “A for Akhilesh”, “D for Dimple Yadav” and “M for Mulayam Singh Yadav”. These references to SP leaders sparked public outrage and hurt sentiments, leading to accusations of political education.

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BJP MLC Subhash Yaduvanshi on Monday demanded that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav apologise for the initiative. Outside the BJP headquarters, Yaduvanshi put up a poster which said, “SP ka PDA Pathshala ka kala sach. Pradesh ka kaun abhibhavak apne bachche ko padhana chahta hai A for Akhilesh aur D for Dimple (The dark truth of SP’s school. Which parent of the state wants to educate his child? A for Akhilesh and D for Dimple).”

Joining the attack, former SP MLC Sunil Yadav Sajan alleged that it was Akhilesh Yadav’s PDA Pathshala concept that forced the Yogi Adityanath government to withdraw its school merger plan. “The court had also reprimanded them,” he added, accusing the state government of diverting attention from pressing public issues.

The SP has been conducting PDA Pathshala activities in several districts.

In Lucknow, an SP leader was recently booked for running one at Umarbhari Primary School, which had previously been merged by the Basic Education Department due to low student numbers.