Soon after the Bahujan Samaj Party dumped the Congress and announced to contest the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assembly polls alone, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav gave a pep talk to the Congress, asking it to be large hearted and inclusive for carrying along all like-minded parties.
“Congress was delaying the issue of alliance for assembly polls in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh with like-minded parties. This was creating confusion among smaller parties. It is the duty of the Congress to act as an elder brother in the alliance but they seem to have other priorities,” Akhilesh Yadav said in a statement issued in Lucknow on Wednesday.
The SP president said that due to the delay in the announcement of alliance, other parties were announcing their candidates.
The SP chief defended the BSP saying, “A deliberate lie is being spread that the BSP chief is under pressure from Central government or Central investigation agencies. At the same time, I must say that the Congress too is a good political outfit.”
Akhilesh Yadav has been visiting MP frequently and addressing public meetings there, and has asked the party’s state leadership to select candidates for the assembly polls.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh for ignoring the plight of farmers.
“When farmers raise their voice for genuine demands, they are ‘honoured’ with lathis by the BJP government,” he commented.
Reacting to the recent suicide by officers in the BJP rule in UP, the SP chief said that Lalitpur sub-divisional magistrate shot himself as he was under immense pressure.
“Governance in UP has slipped from bad to worse. The situation is such that now if anyone travelling in a car does not stop, then he/she may be shot,” Akhilesh said, referring to the murder of Apple executive Vivek Tiwari by two constables in Lucknow.