Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday took a swipe at the ruling BJP, accusing it of making “hollow commitments” and missing the opportunity to project India as a “Vishwa Guru” in the backdrop of the Israel–US vs Iran conflict.
In a brief chat with the media at the airport here, Yadav quipped, “BJP leaders do have one quality—they make promises on many things, but don’t look back to assess their fate. Once upon a time, they promised to double farmers’ income. I don’t know whether they made promises in Jaipur or not, but how much has the income risen—especially amid skyrocketing inflation and price rise? They don’t bother,” the SP leader said in a sarcastic tone.
Referring to Agra, he added, “They had made a towering claim of turning the City of the Taj into a one trillion USD tourism economy. If the Taj had such potential, what about Jaipur’s tourism economy? It could have been multifold higher had they thought about it or made any serious effort,” Yadav retorted.
“They repeatedly boast about their ‘double engine’ government, but the two engines are not running in synchrony. Instead of moving like a well-coordinated train, there appears to be a lack of coordination and even conflict, as if they are on the same track but moving in opposite directions towards an imminent collision,” he said.
“Despite such a concerning situation, the BJP leadership makes us dream about India becoming a Vishwa Guru. The Government of India and the BJP leadership have missed that opportunity. Had the Prime Minister wished, he could have landed in Iran while returning from Israel, similar to his earlier goodwill gesture when he made an unscheduled stop in Pakistan to attend a family function of the then Prime Minister,” Yadav said.
“Had he taken such a step, the whole world would have seen him as a Vishwa Guru. Instead, ‘chachas’ in Pakistan are playing the roles we expected from him,” he added.
On Uttar Pradesh politics, the former Chief Minister reiterated allegations of misuse of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the revision of electoral rolls and bypolls.
He said, “When the BJP senses imminent defeat, it hides behind institutions and targets its adversaries under their cover. After being exposed for the misuse of other central agencies, the saffron party is now contesting elections in Uttar Pradesh in collusion with the ECI. In every by-election, they have ‘looted’ votes in collusion with the Commission. We lodged complaints, but they were not heard.”
Yadav was in Jaipur to attend a private function in the family of former Lok Sabha member from Alwar, Dr K. S. Yadav.