Akhilesh Yadav calls BJP's UP in-charge 'pagal' over PDA remark
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday called Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge Vinod Tawde "pagal" (crazy) over his expanding the opposition party's coinage "PDA" to "paraya dhan apna".
Yadav said the ruling BJP knows better how to grab someone else's "dhan" (money) and make it its own.
The former chief minister's response came a day after Tawde, who was named UP in-charge in August, said that the BJP would challenge the SP's PDA formula, which stands for pichhda (backward classes), Dalit, and alpasankhyak (minorities).
"The in-charge has come, which is a good thing. 'P' stands for in-charge (prabhari), and P also stands for 'pagal'," Yadav told reporters in Bidhuna.
"They not only know how to make someone else's wealth their own, but they also know how to make party money their own. Who knows better than the BJP how to make someone else's wealth their own?" he said.
Yadav expressed confidence that the SP and its allies would form the next government in UP in 2027, claiming that BJP leaders have started "packing up".
He said stalwarts like Ram Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan and Mulayam Singh Yadav worked to strengthen socialist ideology, while the BJP government is bent on destroying it by "selling" the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC).
On Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yadav said, "There can be no one who speaks the truth more than a saint, but our saint is a little different; he speaks nothing but lies."
On the demolition of a mosque in Saharanpur on the collectorate complex, Yadav alleged that the government was unable to provide jobs or control inflation and therefore took the action to divert the people's attention.
"Our society will become stronger when we respect other religions. A true Sanatani, a true Hindu, can never insult another person," he said.
A mosque on government land inside the Saharanpur collectorate premises was demolished early Saturday after a city magistrate's court declared it illegal, according to police.
The SP chief questioned how justice could be delivered if someone was denied an opportunity to approach another court and action was taken within 12 hours.
"What was the hurry to demolish the mosque in Saharanpur? What difficulty would there have been if the parties concerned had approached the high court or the Supreme Court for justice? People are saddened by the administration's demolition of the mosque and are silent. All these people will come together to work towards removing the communal BJP," the SP chief said.
Yadav also tipped his hat to Dr B R Ambedkar when asked about the embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple.
"When theft took place at Lord Ram's temple, they had to take the help of the law made by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar," he said.
The law would take its course, he asserted.
