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Akhilesh Yadav predicts a repeat of Uttarakhand in Uttar Pradesh ahead of polls

Akhilesh Yadav also continued to build on his claim that UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath was taking credit for projects started during Yadav's tenure as the CM of the state.

Published on: Mar 12, 2021, 10:22:35 IST
By | Edited by , Lucknow
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The Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav claimed on Thursday that Uttar Pradesh may see a repeat of the recent developments in Uttarakhand, where the Bharatiya Janata Party replaced its chief minister a year before assembly elections following dissent against his leadership. He also accused UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath of claiming credit for the work done by the SP government in the past.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav attacked UP CM Yogi Adityanath during his press conference in Moradabad. (File Pic/Representational) (PTI)
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav attacked UP CM Yogi Adityanath during his press conference in Moradabad. (File Pic/Representational) (PTI)

"The image of the chief minister taking a selfie on Wednesday has been splashed in newspapers and social media. The project seen in the background is the SP government's project," claimed Akhilesh. Yogi Adityanath took a selfie at a dam project that he inaugurated in Chitrakoot on Wednesday.

Akhilesh Yadav’s pot shots at CM Yogi Adityanath came during a press conference in Moradabad, ahead of the bicycle rally he is scheduled to flag off on Friday in the neighbouring Rampur. The SP is taking out the bicycle rally from Rampur to Lucknow in support of party's Rampur MP, Azam Khan, who is currently in jail in connection with the cases filed against him over alleged anomalies in institution and operation of Maulana Jauhar University, Rampur.

Taking about the three new Central farm laws, Akhilesh said, “The laws will ruin small, medium farmers and agricultural labourers."

Yadav indicated that his party would not ally with his uncle Shivpal Yadav's Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L) for UP Assembly polls 2022.

Also Read: BJP launches rural-connect drive ahead of UP panchayat polls

"Samajwadi Party's experience with big political parties has not been good. We will not ally with any big political parties. We will take smaller parties on board," he said, but when asked about Shivpal Yadav and his PSP-L, he quipped, "Yes, indeed his party is small. Samajwadi Party will ally with small parties but not with those that have any BJP link."

There was a scuffle involving security staff of Akhilesh Yadav and some local journalists after SP president's press conference (PC) in Moradabad. At least two journalists were reported to have suffered minor injuries in the incident.

"The incident occurred when some people obstructed the exit after the press conference. The matter was resolved shortly," said superintendent of police (city), Moradabad, Amit Kumar Anand.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pankaj Jaiswal

Pankaj Jaiswal is Bureau Chief, Uttar Pradesh. He covers-analyses politics, and assists Hindustan Times reporters across the state. He has 30 years of experience in print media reporting. Based in Lucknow, he started his journalism career at a national English daily in Kanpur after graduating from Christ Church College. He joined Hindustan Times, Lucknow edition, as part of the launch team in 1997. He’s covered everything from rural distress to science, environment, wildlife, and crime. He has travelled extensively in Uttar Pradesh for rural, development, political, and election reporting. His continued interest in rural issues, rural distress, and development journalism has fetched him a handful of prestigious awards and fellowships. Pankaj is a photojournalist too. He clinched the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting—First Prize in 2009 and Third Prize in 2006—for exposing Bundelkhand’s devastating drought and distress: crop failures, farm suicides, migration, debt, and the injustice of meagre compensation cheques between Rs 10 and Rs 20 to farmers by the government from crop loss. He also has been awarded with Hindustan Times internal 'Journalist of the Month' citation over half a dozen times. His relentless reporting in Hindustan Times pulled the Bundelkhand crisis out of obscurity and forced it into the national spotlight, prompting media and government action on one of India’s most neglected regions. Over a decade, he filed hundreds of hard-hitting stories, travelling repeatedly from Lucknow deep into Bundelkhand. He also received the Special Mention KC Kulish International Award 2009. Pankaj also did long-haul political reporting on the most intense political family feud—’The Yadav Family Feud’—between 2016 and 2022.

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