A day after BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had thrown down the gauntlet to the UP Government, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav picked it up in Gonda on Monday when he said that what the State Government has done Gujarat can never think of replicating and UP would be the most progressive State in the next five years.
"I heard Modi's Meerut speech on Monday. He questioned what Neta ji has done for the people. He questioned me! We have given free medicines to people, free water for irrigation to farmers, free laptops, free education to girl students and waive farm loans of farmers. Can Modi think of doing soIJ" Mulayam Singh Yadav said while addressing the party's Desh Bachchao-Desh Banao rally.
Rally was held a day after Modi dared the SP to compete with him in development. He talked about truant electricity in Uttar Pradesh and lack of roads and other infrastructure needed for development. "We have built an atmosphere of confidence... In your State, Modi ji you have thrived by dividing people on religious lines while here in Uttar Pradesh we marched ahead hand-in-hand to the path of progress," he said. "In the next five years, UP would be the most developed State of the country," he added.
He countered Modi point by point by highlighting the UP Government’s achievements. He even praised UP Government for extending relief to the riot victims in Muzaffarnagar in record time, which he claimed is unheard. Mulayam even blamed the BJP for triggering communal riots in Muzaffarnagar. Highlighting the importance of the SP in Third Front, he said all other parties — including AIADMK, JD(U) and left can hardly win 40 seats individually as the States where these parties are strong do not have 40 seats.
"UP has 80 seats. Ensure we win as many seats that no body can ignore the SP in next Government formation. Give me enough strength so that I can bargain for more subsidies and schemes for farmers, students and minorities,” he said. UP CM Akhilesh Yadav unveiled 54 projects worth Rs 161 crore before launching a scathing attack on Modi said that what UP has achieved within two years Gujarat Government cannot think of doing.
"No one can compare UP's cane with Gujarat. In western part of the country it takes one year for the cane to mature while in UP the famers get two crops in that period. In UP, the present political dispensation believes in communal harmony while the Gujarat government sides with those who spew communal hatred," Yadav said.