Akhilesh Yadav, national president of the Samajwadi Party, on Saturday claimed that he had earlier supported the idea of Mayawati and later Nitish Kumar becoming the Prime Minister of the country.
Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Yadav said, “When the SP formed an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party, we wanted Mayawati to be the Prime Minister. Later, when the INDIA Bloc alliance was formed, we wanted Nitish Kumar to become the Prime Minister.”
Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party, he said the party did not even give Nitish Kumar a chance to retire as Chief Minister. “Now he will retire from the Rajya Sabha,” Yadav remarked.
He also took a dig at Yogi Adityanath over the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s foreign visits. Referring to his trips to Singapore and Japan, Yadav said, “Usually, travel plans are made after a farewell or event. But this is the first Chief Minister who has already gone abroad.”
Commenting on the recent emergency landing of the helicopter carrying Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Yadav said the government should provide him with a new helicopter.
“The machine should always be in good condition. We wish him good health. All of us travel by helicopter, and it should be safe and properly maintained. We demand that he be given a new helicopter,” he said.
On the issue of Indians stranded in West Asia, Yadav urged the government to ensure their safe return. Referring to people stranded in the Gulf region and Iran, he said the government should make arrangements to bring them back.
“For the first time we are seeing that our foreign policy appears to be influenced by outsiders. This is a serious matter for the country. It is surprising that India seems unable to decide its own foreign policy,” he said.