Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav has accused the BJP of using “Vande Mataram”, the national heritage, for its own political interests.
Questioning the credentials of the BJP, he said the party is dividing society in the name of nationalism. He alleged that the BJP creates controversies to pit people against each other.
Speaking to the media after an event in Noida on Wednesday, Akhilesh Yadav pointed out that “Vande Mataram” has been a symbol of unity during the freedom struggle. “Our ancestors, following the path of Gandhiji, Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, and many other revolutionaries, achieved independence with the slogans of Vande Mataram, Inquilab Zindabad, and Jai Hind. The BJP is using this national heritage for its own political ends,” he said.
The SP chief accused the Central and state governments of implementing NRC in the name of SIR (Special Summary Revision). Under BJP rule, the SIR process has become a means to disenfranchise voters. The Samajwadi Party is receiving information through its PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak – Backward Classes, Dalits, Minorities) and workers that approximately five crore people in Uttar Pradesh are being forced to fill out forms again, raising doubts about their eligibility.
He said BLOs (Booth Level Officers) are being made to work under immense pressure without proper training while the BJP, in collusion with officials, is engaged in a strategy to remove the votes of PDA members, the poor, farmers, and socialists.
Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the mapping app was created by a company that has given large sums of money to the BJP through electoral bonds, therefore, the fairness of the process is under question.
In response to a question, he said that the mentality of washing the houses of PDA families with “Ganga water” is barbarism. He alleged that concealing the number of devotees killed in the Mahakumbh stampede and giving black money instead of government compensation is also an example of this mentality.
On the issue of infiltrators in Uttar Pradesh, he said if the government’s claims are true, the BJP should answer for what it has done during its 11 years of rule at the Central and nine years in the state.
Akhilesh Yadav said if the PDA community is deprived of their voting rights, their ration cards and reservations will also be at risk. The BJP’s policies have led to increased inflation, job losses, and a weakened economy. Therefore, the public will hold the BJP accountable in the upcoming elections.