Akhilesh slams Yogi's promise of 'one lakh jobs' months before assembly polls
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday took a swipe at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his recent remarks that one lakh youths would be provided jobs in the next few months, saying the announcement comes just months before the assembly polls, with the model code of conduct to come into force soon enough.
"Now, with only few days left, they are saying that one lakh jobs will be given. After January, the model code of conduct will come into force," Yadav said at a press conference at party headquarter here.
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are due in early 2027.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) president also attacked the BJP over alleged corruption, also claiming that the ruling party had "failed the poor".
Lashing out at the government over the alleged theft of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, he said while a large number of people in the state have been forced to resort to begging outside temples, there are some who steal from inside them.
"Outside temples, we see a large number of people asking for 'daan' (alms). But even a beggar never steals from inside a temple," he jibed, terming the BJP an "adharmi (irreligious)" party that pilfers offerings made to the divine.
Yadav further accused the BJP of misleading people. "Yeh milawati log hai (They are adulterators)," he lashed out.
"These adulterators have gone to such an extent that they are even adulterating the petrol we use," the former chief minister said, referring to the controversy over E20 fuel.
Yadav also promised that 26,000 primary schools, which he said had been closed down during BJP rule, would be reopened if the SP returned to power in Uttar Pradesh.
He alleged that the closure of schools had disproportionately affected children from "PDA" communities -- Yadav's coinage for 'pichhde' (backward classes), Dalit and 'alpsankhyak' (minorities).
"They (BJP) do not want people from PDA communities to become educated," Yadav claimed, adding that the closure of schools in villages has particularly had an adverse impact on girls.
Yadav also reiterated his demand for caste census, and equitable rights for backward classes.
He asserted that, "Just like Babasaheb Ambedkar spoke about every section of society in the Constitution, the Samajwadi Party would seek representation and rights for communities based on population."
