Describing the Bihar Assembly elections as more nail-biting than the US presidential polls, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said that Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav was set to become the chief minister but because of irregularities committed in Bihar, the Mahagathbandhan was denied victory.
“Those having faith in democratic values are unhappy after the Bihar Assembly polls. Tejashwi Yadav was poised to make his government but could not do so at the last moment,” Akhilesh Yadav said while talking to reporters here on Thursday.
The SP chief said all those who valued democratic values were unhappy today and were asking if this was how elections would be fought.
Expressing surprise, he claimed that with only 14,000 more votes, the grand alliance would have been victorious.
“The Bihar elections were more nail-biting than the US elections. Don’t know what trick the Bharatiya Janata Party played. This is the speciality of the BJP,” he said.
The SP chief said that elections today had become mathematics and there were no issues now.
“The BJP uses everything to win elections. I can present one example and also play its video to prove how all the officials from district magistrate to police chief were involved (in UP). At some places, even during the checking of temperature when the voters were going in to cast their votes they were threatened that such a temperature would be given which would directly shift them to hospital, and ambulances were also deployed,” Akhilesh said
He stressed that his party would not leave the path of development come what may and recalled how the SP schemes were being repackaged and claimed as that of this (BJP) government.
“I can say on record that we had given farmers pensions and women pensions. The maximum bank accounts and bank branches were opened during the SP regime and online transfer of money had also started but this (BJP) government only indulges in publicity and we will also do the same now,” he said.
Yadav also attacked the government for its claim of giving 50 lakh jobs and asked the names of the departments where the jobs were being provided.
He also asked what happened to the claims of over Rs 4 lakh crore investment in the state as claimed by the government.
“When the time comes, we will bring a scheme and spell out the details of where we will be giving jobs to the youth,” he said.
At least three farmers of Ayodhya also addressed the press conference and recounted their experiences with the officials over land acquisition in their native villages for Sri Ram Airport and development of Ayodhya.
They alleged that the officials were harassing them for signing the agreement in which their land was being acquired at very low rates . They also said that they had met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the issue after which the atrocities of the officials had increased.
Assuring all possible help by his party to the farmers of Dharampur, Ganja and Kutia gram sabhas who recounted their problems, Akhilesh Yadav said the government was taking land for a pious work and should show big heart and revise the circle rates as there was no dearth of money to serve the people .He demanded that the farmers of these villages be given six times more compensation for their land .
Giving the example of Agra -Lucknow Expressway, Yadav said that land for it was acquired giving compensation to the satisfaction of the farmers.