After being re-elected as national president of Samajwadi Party for the next five years, Akhilesh Yadav attacked Narendra Modi government over the misuse of CBI and destroying the Indian economy before asking party workers to brace themselves for a big battle against the BJP in the 2019 lok Sabha polls.
Yadav was addressing party delegates at the 10th national convention of Samajwadi Party at Central Telegraph ground in Agra Cantonment where around 25,000 party leaders from 25 states took part on Thursday.
The former UP Chief Minister charged that the CBI was being used by the Centre to threaten Opposition parties. “But we are already in the CBI net and we not afraid of it and will fight it out,” he said.
Blaming the BJP government at the Centre for destroying Uttar Pradesh, Yadav said the government has ruined the economic growth of the entire country.
“We have a Prime Minister who lied to the poor masses. Then we have a BJP government in UP that takes pride in stopping work without caring about anything. It does not understand history. First they had a problem with the Expressway, then the river, now they have a problem with Taj Mahal,” he said.
The SP chief continued, “BJP leaders have opium in their mouth and pockets. They may say things to sway the public. The SP workers should stand with farmers, traders and the poor because they were facing crises following the implementation of GST and demonetisation.”
During the convention, several SP leaders raised the demand for projecting Akhilesh Yadav as the next Prime Ministerial candidate of the country. “The party will hold big rallies in the days ahead and the SP will win maximum seats during 2019 elections,” Yadav said.
Though Akhilesh had announced that his wife Dimple would not contest elections in future, surprisingly Dimple took the front seat and came in support of her husband. “We will unite and fight for the state led by SP president Akhilesh Yadav,” said Dimple Yadav.
She further said,” Netaji( Mulayam) blessed Akhilesh and I believe he has blessed me and all the party leaders on this stage.”
Dimple, who is an MP from Kannauj, also raised the issues of infant deaths at Gorakhpur medical college hospital and violence at Banaras Hindu University. She targeted the Yogi government for stopping all welfare schemes introduced by the previous Akhilesh Yadav regime.
In her brief speech, Bollywood actor and SP Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan said that she was proud that the party had a young leader who understood equality and progress. “My only request to you is to give SP women workers 10 per cent reservation in the next elections,” she demanded from Akhilesh.
SP national vice president Kironmoy Nanda said: “Today morning, over the phone, Netaji told me that he was unwell. But he was always in Samajwadi Party and will always be in it, and his blessings are always with Akhilesh.”
Attacking the BJP, Nanda said that the party was out to destroy democracy. “We should throw out the Modi government as Modi and Amit Shah were biggest villains of the country,” he said.
A silver metal cycle was also gifted to Akhilesh Yadav by party workers on his re-election as SP national president.