Predicting the return of Samajwadi Party to power in 2017, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that people will see him in new `avtaar’ in the next stint as the present tenure was a learning curve.
“Earlier Opposition leaders used to say there are five CMs in UP. Now they are saying there are three. The fact is that this tenure has taught me a lot. You will see a new CM in my next tenure,” Yadav said while addressing a function at RIMS, Saifai, which was granted university status on Tuesday.
Yadav said that he was sure that people would vote for development. “Our government has performed in the last four years and a half. I am ready to debate with anyone on development work being done by our government. What we have achieved in a brief time, no other government can even think of competing with us,” he said.
State BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya had challenged the CM to have a debate on development issues.
The CM spoke at length on development in infrastructure sector. “It is because of our government that the lucknow-Agra Expressway would be operational in 22 months which other governments would have taken 8-9 years to complete. It will not only shorten distance between Agra and lucknow, but also provide a readymade market to farmers along it,” he said.
“I appeal to the people to exercise their franchise judiciously. In Britain, people voted to exit the European Union but now they are repenting. Now people want a repoll on the issue as they have realised that they made a wrong choice. I wish people do not make similar mistake in UP,” Yadav said.
In the same vein, the CM that he was not sure who will form the government in 2017. "But my credentials are high as I have lived up to expectations of the people. I have fulfilled many promises and I will take the state to a new height in my next tenure," the CM promised.
Talking about RIMS, Yadav said that it was a dream project of Neta ji (Mulayam Singh Yadav). Now when we grant it a university status, we have taken the institute to a new level.
“How many people had thought of having a medical university in an obscure village like Saifai. Mulayam Singh ji dreamt about it and we transformed his dream into reality,” the CM said and thanked all including Governor Ram Naik for providing university status to RIMS. The CM also administered the oath to Vice-chancellor Dr T Prabhakar.