Bring down BJP to bring down prices: Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav has said the BJP's defeat in recent bypolls led to a fall in fuel prices and their defeat in 2022 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh will lead to a further fall in prices of other commodities.

Speaking at a rally in Ambedkar Nagar on Sunday evening, Akhilesh lambasted the ruling BJP for rising fuel prices, gross mismanagement of Covid and neglect of farmers.

He flayed the BJP government in the state for its failure to distribute laptops, free data and tablets to the students that they had promised in their 'Sankalp Patra' (manifesto) in the run-up to the 2017 Assembly polls. He said the government forgot about the students in the last four and a half years and has now announced that tablets will be distributed to students.

Akhilesh said that the chief minister does not know how to operate a laptop which is why he was not aware of its importance for the students and never thought of distributing them. Instead, he talked about using bulldozers throughout his regime.

"We Samajwadis can operate a laptop and can also operate a bulldozer if needed," he said to a cheering crowd.

He said the chief minister may change the name or the colour of the LPG cylinder but nothing is being done to reduce its rising prices.

He said the BJP promised that people wearing chappals will be able to travel by planes but the prices of fuel have made it difficult for the people to continue driving a motorcycle, what to talk of air travel.

"Farmers seeking justice are being mowed down under the wheels of vehicles. This is how the triple engine government is treating the farmers -- the triple engine here means the government at the Centre, in the state and the one that prevails in Lakhimpur," he said apparently referring to Union Minister Ajay Misra Teni, whose son is an accused in the case related to death of farmers who were allegedly knocked down by his jeep in Lakhimpur last month.

At the rally, two expelled BSP leaders, Lalji Varma and Ram Achal Rajbhar, formally joined the Samajwadi Party and took a pledge to ensure that an SP government was formed in the state.

Verma is a sitting MLA from Katehari Assembly constituency and Rajbhar is an MLA from Akbarpur, both in Ambedkar Nagar district.