Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who held a 'Vijay Rath Yatra' on the Purvanchal Expressway that was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that he can sense a "wave of change" in Uttar Pradesh that will "wipe out" the BJP in the 2022 Assembly polls.
Addressing people in Ghazipur on Wednesday, the SP chief said, "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)."
He also claimed that the 341-km-long expressway was initiated by the Samajwadi Party when it was in power in the state, alleging that the Purvanchal Expressway is still "incomplete". "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," Akhilesh Yadav added.
"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.
In a dig at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he 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". He was referring to the problem of stray cattle in the state and the chief minister's claim of bulldozers demolishing unauthorised properties.
The SP chief attacked the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh on rising prices of petroleum products saying, "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, Akhilesh Yadav 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, he 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."
The SP's 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.
SP chief should change his name to Akhilesh Ali Jinnah: KP Maurya
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has hit out at the Samajwadi Party chief and said he should change his name to Akhilesh Ali Jinnah. Addressing the media in Barabanki on Wednesday, Maurya said, "The politics of appeasement of the Samajwadi Party has brought Jinnah. That`s why I tell Akhilesh Yadav that he should change his name to Akhilesh Ali Jinnah. And he should change the name of his party to Jinnahwadi Party."
#WATCH | Deputy CM KP Maurya says, “(Samajwadi Party chief) Akhilesh Yadav should change his name to 'Akhilesh Ali Jinnah' and his party's name to 'Jinnahwadi Party'. But neither (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah nor Atiq Ahmed or (Mukhtar) Ansari could help him win in this election”. pic.twitter.com/JFqkqf9yQR
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 17, 2021
The deputy CM further warned the Samajwadi party that Jinnah would not win them elections and added that the people of the state have chosen the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He further said, "Neither (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah nor Atiq Ahmed or (Mukhtar) Ansari could help him win in this election The people of UP have chosen lotus (BJP). The advantage is reaching the people of the state with honesty. There were mafia and goons here, those have ended and the people are in peace."
Maurya added, "Samajwadi Party is in panic. They have lost 3 elections, going to lose the fourth. We are aware of the ground reality as we have an organisation that is spread to the booth. But the Samajwadi party knows too, they have goons, criminals and mafia."
(With Agency Inputs)
