Akhilesh Yadav slams Ayodhya demolitions, promises compensation if SP returns to power

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday, September 23, criticised the recent demolition drive in Ayodhya, alleging that poor families were being uprooted and deprived of their homes and livelihood, and promised his party would compensate them if it returned to power in Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing a press conference at the SP headquarters, Yadav said his party had never obstructed development in Ayodhya and, if given the opportunity, would make the temple town a "world-class city." "When the opportunity comes to the Samajwadis, we will make Ayodhya a world-class city," he said, recalling that BJP leaders had earlier promised to develop Ayodhya better than religious sites elsewhere in the world, including making it "more beautiful than Vatican City."

"But what we are seeing now is that poor people are being uprooted on a large scale. Their livelihood is being taken away and they are being treated with discrimination," Yadav said. He argued that while the government could offer its justification for the demolitions, its approach toward the poor should be more considerate, noting that many families had their capital invested in their homes and should at least have been given the opportunity to remove their belongings before demolition.

He alleged that several families were not allowed to retrieve their belongings before their houses and shops were razed, and that their goods were either destroyed or taken away by bulldozers. "I am assuring these families that the government should compensate them for whatever loss they have suffered. If this government does not do so, then when a Samajwadi government is formed in the future, it will fully compensate them for their houses and whatever other loss they have suffered," he said.

Yadav accused the government of adopting a "bulldozer, demolition and destructive" approach toward laws, the Constitution, rules, and people's rights and dignity.

His remarks come amid an ongoing controversy over alleged theft and embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple, an issue Yadav had first raised in June. The temple trust has since made organisational changes, including creating a CEO post, while an investigation into the allegations continues. Eight people have been arrested in the case and remain in jail, with the matter currently under trial.