News Analysis India

Tag: Samajwadi Party

  • ‘Multi-colour alliance vs monochrome in UP polls’: Akhilesh attacks BJP

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  A huge crowd of Samajwadi Party workers braved the cold night and lined up here as the fourth leg of the Samajwadi Vijay Rath Yatra culminated in the state capital at 4 am on Thursday after covering almost 350 kilometres from Ghazipur.

    Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, along with allies Om Prakash Rajbhar and Sanjay Chauhan, addressed the gathering at the Zero Point on the Purvanchal Expressway.

    Tweeting a photograph of his supporters standing around the Rath, Akhilesh invoked  famous lines from a Robert Frost poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening: ‘But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep…’

    Attacking the ruling BJP for having a “monochromatic” mindset – saffron — the SP chief said at the rally that he had OP Rajbhar’s yellow with him, the SP’s green and red and soon the green and white of RLD would join him making his alliance a multi-coloured bouquet.

    “We have multiple colours with us, unlike the BJP that just has one colour. Those with one colour won’t represent all and be able to do any good for you,” said Akhilesh.

    Akhilesh’s Yatra is considered the lucky charm by SP. In 2011, the SP chief had embarked on a similar Yatra following which the party formed a full majority government in 2012.

  • SP and BJP rallies differ by people coming on their own and those brought: Akhilesh Yadav

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday claimed the surging crowd in his rallies and thin attendance in BJP’s show the difference between people “coming on their own” and “brought” for meetings.

    Yadav made the claim after completing his party’s ‘Vijay Rath Yatra’ from Ghazipur to Lucknow as part of its poll campaign.

    “The enthusiasm of the people attending rallies of his party and allies from Ghazipur to Lucknow and vacant seats in BJP rallies show the difference between people coming to rallies on their own and people brought for them,” said Yadav, in a tweet in Hindi.

    The “vacant seats” in BJP rallies are indicating that the BJP seats in the next assembly too will remain “vacant”, he added in his tweet.

    Starting at 12.30 pm on Wednesday, Yadav’s poll campaign tour vehicle reached Lucknow at about 4.30 am on Thursday, covering a distance of about 350 km from Ghazipur to Lucknow, with an enthusiastic crowd of supporters gathering on the Purvanchal Expressway to welcome him.

    Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and Janwadi Party’s Sanjay Chauhan were also present with Akhilesh Yadav during the fourth leg of the yatra.

    The SP’s Vijay Rath yatra of SP was launched last month from Kanpur to the Bundelkhand region.

    It later went from Lucknow to Hardoi and then from Gorakhpur to Kushinagar.

  • See wave of change in UP that will wipe out BJP in 2022 Assembly polls: Akhilesh Yadav

    By PTI

    GAZIPUR: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said he sensed a “wave of change” in Uttar Pradesh that will “wipe out” the BJP in the 2022 Assembly polls as he held a ‘Vijay Rath Yatra’ on the Purvanchal Expressway inaugurated a day ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    He claimed the 341-km-long expressway was initiated by the Samajwadi Party when it was in power in the state. He also alleged that the Purvanchal Expressway is still “incomplete”.

    In a dig at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Samajwadi Party president claimed that it was “bulls and bulldozers that were moving around in the state” and asked the people would not they “wipe out bulls and bulldozers”.

    Yadav was referring to the problem of stray cattle in the state and the chief minister’s claim of bulldozers demolishing unauthorised properties.

    “I see a wave of change in the state the BJP will be wiped out. I can assure you that in the coming days, Uttar Pradesh will see a change and that will be for peace. There will definitely be a change in 2022 (assembly polls).”

    “It was the Samajwadi Party’s dream of building the Purvanchal Expressway to reduce travelling time between Lucknow and Delhi. It was to be an expressway of prosperity.” Attacking the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, he said that petrol and diesel have become costlier under the current dispensation.

    “These are the very people who had said that poor with slippers will travel by air. But the way the prices of diesel and petrol have gone up, riding a motorcycle has become difficult.” Referring to the promises the BJP made to the people, Yadav said, “Unemployed youths waited for jobs for five years. Where are the jobs? Will the youth not bring a change? All sections of the society, be it farmers, labourers and youths, are ready to bring a change in the state.”

    Buoyed by the surging crowd, the Samajwadi Party chief said, “This is the beginning, the BJP will be wiped out. A historical rally will be held here soon.” Referring to the different shades of flags of his alliance partners in the crowds, Yadav said, “I can see red, yellow, green and blue. It is a rainbow of all colours. The Samajwadi Party takes all the colours along.

    “He took a dig at the ruling party, accusing it of being “of one hue and they cannot take the state on the path of prosperity.” In an ostensible reference to a video on social media where PM Modi is seen in a four-wheeler surrounded by his security personnel in Sultanpur and Adityanath walking, Yadav said, “It was for the people to bring them on the road, but they themselves have started trodding down that path.”

    “We have to take this expressway to Ballia and connect it with Bihar. When the Samajwadi Party forms government, it will provide a better road, mandis and employment opportunities for the youth,” the Samajwadi Party chief said.

    His alliance partner, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar said “the government will not change till we all fight together against it” and asked people not to rest till the BJP is voted out of power.

  • Highway politics: Akhilesh’s token ‘Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway’ ahead of PM’s UP visit  

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  A day ahead of the inauguration of 341-km long six-lane Purvanchal Expressway by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said he would inaugurate the expressway which he claimed was ‘Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway,’ symbolically by offering flowers.

    Significantly, the Ghazipur district administration has denied permission for Akhilesh Yadav’s Vijay Rath Yatra which he wanted to take out in Ghazipur on Tuesday. However, Akhilesh claimed that he would go ahead with his yatra as per the schedule.

    As per the order of Ghazipur DM MP Singh, the traffic on Purvanchal Expressway will remain suspended for common people on 16 November due to security reasons in view of PM’s schedule.

    The DM asked the Samajwadi Party leader to reschedule the Rath Yatra for Wednesday, November 17 or another preferred day.

    The fourth leg of  Samajwadi Vijay Rath Yatra was scheduled on November 16 from Ghazipur to  Azamgarh. The Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav along with SBSP Chief Om Prakash Rajbhar were expected to share the stage on the Rath Yatra. 

    He added that the BJP government had not done anything of their own to show during the last four-and-a-half years.

    “The work for Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway was started during the SP regime. Now I am getting to know that BJP is trying to copy SP by making fighter jets land on the expressway. We did that five years back on Agra-Lucknow Expressway and had set an example. 

  • Jhoot, Ahankar and Mehengai: UP acronym politics gets a bitter JAM taste

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  In a strong retort to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s JAM jibe, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former UP chief minister Akhileskh Yadav on Sunday said BJP’s JAM stands for “Jhoot (lies), Ahankar (Ego) and Mehengai (Inflation).”

    The SP leader was speaking to media persons in Kushinagar during the third leg of his Vijay Rath Yatra which was kicked off on Saturday from CM Yogi Aditynath’s bastion Gorakhpur.

    On Saturday, Shah claimed in Azamgarh during a public rally that while PM Modi brought JAM, based on Jandhan accounts, Aadhaar and Mobile, to eradicate corruption from the system, there was also an SP’s JAM meaning Jinnah, Azam Khan and Mukhtar. 

    Akhilesh Yadav during the ‘Samajwadi Vijay Yatra’in Kushinagar on SundayReacting to this, Akhilesh said: “They gave a new acronym —  JAM. It does not work in diabetes. Samajwadi people have also defined JAM, the BJP’s JAM stands for Jhoot, Ahankar and Mehengai. Nobody lies more than the BJP. They have sent JAM, we will soon send butter for them.”

    Lending support to farmers, Akhilesh said: “The BJP has brought three oppressive farm laws owing to which many farmers have lost their lives and a protest has been going on for almost a year now, but the BJP doesn’t care.”

    Taking credit for the recently inaugurated Kushinagar airport, the SP chief said it was a brainchild of his government.

    “Someone may call us backward but we are forward with our thoughts. We think of development despite being backward and they (BJP) think backward despite being of upper caste,”  he said.

    “Today UP is at the forefront of custodial deaths. Thoko raj is going on. Sensitive policing is needed. If Baba Yogi (CM) doesn’t know how to operate a laptop, then how will he do smart policing?” he added.If the BJP gets one more chance, it will crush the Constitution, claimed the SP chief.

  • Jinnah continues to dominate UP’s political discourse as Yogi now calls Akhilesh Taliban supporter

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  Hitting out at SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused him of being a “Taliban supporter” as he “eulogised Jinnah”. 

    “Those who support Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in a way support the Taliban,” said the CM while attacking the Opposition at a social conference organised by the BJP to strengthen its ground force ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly elections.

    Cautioning against the opposition parties and listing out his government’s achievements, the CM said: “One has to be careful with such people. BJP has done what it said. Article 370 from Kashmir was removed. Today a grand Ram temple is being built in Ayodhya. Before 2014, the benefit of housing scheme was available to those who were close to the people in power, but today the  poor are being given housing without any discrimination.”

    His remark is seen as a veiled dig at the Samajwadi Party (SP).

    Om Prakash Rajbhar, the chief of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an ally of the SP, had on Thursday blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the country’s partition, a day after saying India would have remained unified had Muhammad Ali Jinnah been made its first prime minister.

    Earlier, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had equated Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, with Mahatma Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru.

    With months to go for the Assembly polls in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Jinnah appears to be dominating the political discourse.

    Addressing the Samajik Pratinidhi Sammelan here, Adityanath said, “Those who are speaking about the partition are in a way extending support to the Taliban. As soon as the Taliban resurfaced in Afghanistan, a number of voices started to come up in its support. When strong action was taken, these voices went soft.”

    “Supporting the Taliban means supporting a power that works against humanity, against Lord Buddha’s message of ‘maitri’ (friendship). Certain people are moving in that direction and we need to be aware of them,” he added.

    The BJP leader said those supporting the Taliban need to learn from the past “We should not forget how Buddha’s statues were destroyed in Bamiyan (in Afghanistan) by the Taliban. Breaking the statues of Buddha means trying to put an end to peace. Twenty years ago, when this incident took place, we thought that one day, they (Taliban) will face ‘durgati’ (misfortune). A few days later, the US dropped bombs on them. Back then, I had said they reaped what they sowed,” he said.

    Without naming any political party, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, “The opposition does not have any issue to raise. Rashtranayak (national hero) Sardar Patel is on one side and Jinnah, who divided the country, is on the other. They support Jinnah and insult Patel. But we support Patel. He is a rashtranayak while Jinnah will remain a villain for centuries. Will you support those supporting Jinnah?”

    Referring to history books, he said, “History never termed emperor Ashoka or Chandragupta Maurya great, but it termed Alexander, who was defeated by Chandragupta Maurya, great. Historians are silent on such issues. However, once the countrymen learn the truth, India will change.”

    Hitting back at Adityanath, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted, “Hindutva is a fake history factory. Chandragupta and Alexander never met in war. This is yet another example of why we need good public education system. In absence of good schools, Baba-log get to make up facts according to convenience. Baba doesn’t value education and it shows.”

    Showering praises on Narendra Modi, Adityanath said the prime minister is making the country resurgent and the philosophy of “Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat” entails this.

    Addressing a public meeting in Hardoi, the SP chief had said, “Sardar Patel, Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Jinnah studied in the same institute and became barristers. They helped the country achieve independence and never backed away from any struggle.”

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • BJP stands for arrogance, lies, says Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s jibe against his party, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday attacked the BJP saying it stands for arrogance, lies, and inflation.

    Akhilesh’s response came a day after Shah’s speech in Azamgarh, in which he termed the SP as a party that stands for ‘Jinnah, Azam Khan and Mukhtar (Ansari)’, giving it the acronym ‘JAM’.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in past used ‘JAM’ as a shorthand to publicise his vision of getting a Jan Dhan Bank account, Aadhaar, and Mobile phone’ to every person in the country.

    On Sunday, Akhilesh used the same acronym to attack the BJP.

    “For BJP ‘J’ stands for ‘Jhooth’ (lie), ‘A’ stands for ‘Ahankaar'(arrogance), and ‘M’ stands for ‘Mahangaai’ (inflation),” he said addressing a press conference in Kushinagar.

    In his address, Akhilesh criticized the BJP for rising prices of petrol and diesel across the country.

    He alleged the BJP is pandering to the poor only because election is around the corner in Uttar Pradesh.

    “If the BJP stays in power, it (fuel price) will touch Rs 150. They are not increasing the price as election is round the corner,” he said.

    “The poor are being given food grains only till the elections. They (BJP) are saying that it has been extended from Holi to Diwali,” he said, adding that if his party comes to power, food will be available round the year.

    Addressing a rally in the SP bastion of Azamgarh on Saturday, Shah had said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has rid the Purvanchal region of “mosquitoes and mafia”.

    He claimed that while Modi strived to give a ‘corruption-free’ government, SP was inducting in its fold people like Mukhtar Ansari, a don-turned-politician.

    “You should tell me whether you want BJP’s JAM or SP’s JAM. These people can never work for the welfare of Uttar Pradesh. They indulge in dividing people on the basis of caste, causing riots, appeasement, and vote-bank politics,” Shah had said.

    He attacked the SP chief yet again for naming Muhammad Ali Jinnah — the founder of Pakistan — among other freedom fighters.

    “There are so many people from the minority community here. Is there anyone here who sees greatness in Jinnah,” Shah had said.

    In an address in Hardoi on October 31, Akhilesh kicked up a controversy when he said Jinnah got his barristership from the same place as did Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, and Jawaharlal Nehru, people who got India freedom.

  • Rajbhar to join Akhilesh’s ‘Samajwadi Vijay Yatra’ from UP’s Ghazipur to Azamgarh

    By ANI

    LUCKNOW: Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) National President Om Prakash Rajbhar will join Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav for ‘Samajwadi Vijay Yatra’ on Tuesday, informed the party sources.

    Om Prakash Rajbhar will join Akhilesh Yadav from Ghazipur to Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh for ‘Samajwadi Vijay Yatra’.

    Samajwadi party began this yatra on October 12, ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

    Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), a former BJP, have become allies for the 2022 UP assembly polls.

    Earlier on October 9, Yadav had expressed confidence about winning the polls in Uttar Pradesh and said that the people of the state were disappointed with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.

    “We are again getting an opportunity to hold rath yatra and this time, it is a ‘Vijay Yatra’ of Samajwadi Party. The people of Uttar Pradesh are disappointed with the BJP government,” Yadav had told ANI earlier.

    He further said that his party is optimistic about getting 400 seats and securing a landslide victory.

    “The way BJP is running the government in the state and at the Centre, it is not for the people and they are unhappy with the party. As a result, the Samajwadi party is very optimistic about 400 seats in the upcoming elections,” he added.

  • BJP failed to fulfill poll promises, party shouldn’t worry about 2024, first face 2022: Akhilesh

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of failing on all fronts of governance by not fulfilling the promises made to the people of the state in its manifesto in 2017, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said that the BJP should be held accountable to the people before the 2022 elections as the party had deceived the people of the state.

    Slamming the BJP, the SP chief said the ruling party should not worry about 2024 (general elections). It has to answer people’s questions in 2022 (assembly elections) first.

    Launching the third leg of his Vijay Rath Yatra from Gorakhpur, the stronghold of CM Yogi Adityanath, the SP chief accused the ruling BJP of selling major institutions instead of giving jobs to youth.

    “Earlier, the BJP government was a ‘pheku sarkar’ (government that made false promises), but has now become a ‘bechu sarkar’ (government that sells),” Yadav said, claiming that the “BJP government is going and no one could stop it”.

    ALSO READ: At rally with Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath drops hint to rename Azamgarh as ‘Aryamgarh’

    “They have insulted the farmers by promulgating three farm laws instead of doubling their income as was promised. Fuel prices are sky-rocketing and inflation is at its peak. The value of the rupee is touching a record low,” claimed Akhilesh while moving on his Vijay Rath carved out of a Mercedes bus equipped with all five-star facilities.

    He also criticized the government for “not helping the labourers and the poor during the Covid-19 lockdown”.

    Elaborating on the farm laws, Akhilesh said: “The farmers are protesting for the last so many months, but the government has not lent an ear to them instead it is crushing their protest. Protests are a way of making the government listen in a democracy, but this government is muzzling their voice. It has insulted the farmers and will take their land.”

    The SP chief also ridiculed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying the UP CM did not know how to operate a laptop, so he was not distributing laptops among the students.

    Yadav said Gorakhpur was awaiting development. “People of Azamgarh know who has done development work. Development has stopped in Gorakhpur during the BJP regime. Now, the people of Gorakhpur will bring down the fever of arrogance of the BJP,” he claimed.

  • BJP stands for Jandhan, Samajwadi Party for Jinnah: Amit Shah attacks Akhilesh Yadav in Azamgarh

    By PTI

    AZAMGARH: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday targeted the Samajwadi Party, alleging it stands for “Jinnah, Azam Khan and Mukhtar (Ansari)”, and asserted that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has rid the Purvanchal region of “mosquitoes and mafias”.

    “BJP gave the people ‘JAM’ – Jandhan, Aadhar and Mobile- but the SP people say they have also brought ‘JAM’ – Jinnah, Azam Khan and Mukhtar (don-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari),” Shah said addressing a rally in Azamgarh, an SP bastion represented by party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lok Sabha.

    “You should tell me whether you want BJP’s JAM or SP’s JAM. These people can never work for the welfare of Uttar Pradesh. They indulge in dividing people on the basis of caste, causing riots, appeasement and vote-bank politics,” Shah said.

    As the election season is approaching, Akhilesh Yadav is seeing greatness in Mohammad Ali Jinnah, he said referring to the Pakistan founder.

    “There are so many people from the minority community here, is there anyone here who sees greatness in Jinnah,” Shah said.

    Akhilesh Yadav has drawn flak for his statement in which he equated Muhammad Ali Jinnah with Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru, saying they helped India get freedom.

    Shah said Chief Minister Adityanath has ensured the migration of mafias from Azamgarh and other parts of Uttar Pradesh.

    Yogi Adityanath has “‘freed Purvanchal (eastern UP) of mosquitoes and mafias”, he said.

    ”You (Akhilesh Yadav) never cleaned this area. Mosquitoes were ruling and children were dying of brain fever. But Prime Minister Modi’s Swachhta campaign was implemented here by Adityanath and the region became mosquito-free,” he said.

    Shah was addressing the rally in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh after laying the foundation of a new state university here.