E-Paper
Akhilesh Yadav asks followers of Ambedkar, Lohia to come together
Re-elected as Samajwadi Party national president for third term, Akhiilesh Yadav says party must strive for national status, workers should be ready to fill jails
Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday called upon those who follow the principles of Dr BR Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia to come together and join their ideologies, reflecting an obvious strategy to integrate backward classes, Dalits and Muslims to expand the party vote bank.
“Now, Bahujan Samaj (Dalits) is joining Samajwadis in large numbers,” he said, addressing the party’s national convention in Lucknow after taking over as the SP national president for the third straight term.
Akhilesh Yadav also sought a pledge from the party workers to turn the SP into a national party in five years and said this is what his father (party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav) always wanted.
Besides, he asked party workers to be prepared to fill jails to ensure justice for people and displace the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“Even if we Samajwadis (socialists) have to fill jails (in the struggle against the BJP government), we will. Samajwadis do not fear struggle. Samajwadis can walk, cycle and stage sit-ins. Even Netaji (party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav) had said that when justice is denied, this is the only way out,” Akhilesh Yadav said at the Ramabai Ambedkar grounds.
Shortly before, party’s chief national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav declared Akhilesh had been re-elected as the Samajwadi Party national president “unopposed and unanimously”.
Akhilesh Yadav said: “ You entrusted this responsibility at the time when democracy and the constitution are under threat,” he said.
Hitting out at the BJP, the Samajwadi Party chief said, “It’s Navratri...let’s pray to Goddess Durga that the BJP people stop lying...Farmers are distressed, but the maximum loan waivers were given to Gujarat businessmen...Industries are being taken away to Gujarat. Why not those industries be sent to the state (UP) that made the BJP government at the centre twice?... Agniveer is a betrayal to the world’s best and biggest armed forces.” Targeting the BJP and the Election Commission, he said: “The people voted for Samajwadis (in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls). But the BJP people with their malpractices and misuse of government machinery snatched away the people’s government, and installed themselves,” he said.
“And even the Election Commission let us down. The Election Commission sided with booth in-charges of the BJP. The Election Commission was hand in glove with BJP Panna Pramukhs in deleting the names of Muslim voters from the voter list,” he alleged.
