Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has said that seat-sharing would be smooth in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as Congress has reduced its ‘ahankar’ (ego) after its defeat in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
The comment of Akhilesh Yadav comes ahead of the fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc in Delhi on December 19.
Akhilesh Yadav said that earlier the Congress had ‘ahankar’ against the alliance partners, and that was why it contested alone in the Hindi heartland states, a strategy that backfired. He said now the SP was on good terms with Congress and it was the responsibility of the grand old party to take the alliance forward.
The SP chief added, “Moreover, the Congress has realised the importance of caste census and is advocating it, which is a welcome sign for the INDIA bloc. Now, we are united and ready to take on the zero-tolerance government.”
He also said that people were fed up with the policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party and wanted a change of guard in Delhi as the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre had failed to fulfill the promises it had made to the people ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking about the challenge of finding a prime ministerial face, Akhilesh Yadav said INDIA bloc had enough capable people from different backgrounds and age brackets.
Commenting on the possibility of Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav said UP welcomes every big leader.
The SP chief also praised Union minister Nitin Gadkari for developing highway/expressway networks in the country. He, however, claimed that not a single expressway was built in Uttar Pradesh by the NDA government. Uttar Pradesh is building the expressway and financing it from its own resources, he said.
He also commented that the SP government had built a world-class expressway where transport as well as fighter planes of the Indian Air Force could land.
“Our (SP) architectural designs are being used by the NHAI (National Highway Authority of India) in their projects. We gave the UP Police one of the finest response systems and worked for the betterment of healthcare facilities in the state. But, since the BJP government came to power, these schemes have been stopped by them,” he said.
Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the farmers in Uttar Pradesh were not getting remunerative prices for their agricultural produce.
Criticising the disinvestment policy of the Centre, the SP chief said, “Privatisation of the central public sector undertakings and giving PSUs on lease has resulted in a higher unemployment rate in the country and that is why we are working to dislodge the BJP from power.”
