Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and alleged that a section of the media along with the saffron leaders was out on a mission to destroy the nation.
In an open letter to the people of the country in the backdrop of the showdown between the BJP and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, Akhilesh termed the BJP’s “attack” on West Bengal as an attack on the Constitution.
He said the developments in West Bengal were a cause of concern for all citizens regardless of their political affiliation, and urged people to “protect and preserve” constitutional values and the institutions tasked with upholding them.
In the opening lines of his letter written in English, which was released to the media in Lucknow on Tuesday, Akhilesh said, “I write to you because two and a half men – and the media, that has been corrupted by their sycophantic portrayal of these men – are on the brink of destroying our nation and everything it stands for.”
Hitting out at the Union government, the SP chief said, “The formula is simple. Unfriendly politicians in power are to be embroiled in legal battles, buried under false charges, attacked as anti-national and seditious and their states set aflame using whatever sectarian methods are at the disposal of this government that dreams of staying in power for 50 years.”
“This is just one of many naked political attacks being orchestrated across the country by the two and a half men, who run this country. You may well believe we need a strong man in-charge of this country and that this type of person can relieve us from corruption and chaos but our Prime Minister is far from a strong man. To quote his own Cabinet minister and colleague Nitin Gadkari, ‘One who cannot manage his home cannot manage the country’.” Akhilesh Yadav said.
The SP chief further said, “In attacking Mamata Banerjee, regardless of their policies, their religion, their caste or the religion they belong to, agree to two things: the rule of law requires strong institutions, not weak officers who are weaponised against political opponents, and that elections should be fought at polling booths not using midnight raids, trumped up charges and lies.”
“I call upon our judiciary, the CBI, the IAS, the IPS officers and all our other national institutions to prevail against the constant attacks on them and to fight with integrity. I call upon them to stand up for due process so that they do not act as election agents for a particular party. I call upon our fellow Indians working at these institutions to stand up and be counted and I pray that fellow Indians, who work in the media, will speak the truth without fear or favour,” Akhilesh added.
Lastly, the SP chief wrote, “You can disagree with me. You cast your vote for the person who can represent you best but please do not allow this motley group made up of two and a half men to erode the very basis of our country.”
The open letter came in the backdrop of the deadlock in West Bengal between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the CBI. The premier probe agency had also raided people related to Samajwadi Party in the illegal mining case during the previous regime. The CBI had recently raided several places in connection with the Rs 1,410 crore memorial scam which took place during the tenure of Bahujan Samaj Party.