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If voted to power, we’ll get Covid management audit done in Uttar Pradesh: Akhilesh Yadav
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister claims that the state government hid data as it did not want to help people, says officials who concealed information will face stringent action when Samajwadi Party comes to power
Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said if voted to power in Uttar Pradesh next year, his government will get an audit of Covid-19 management done in the state and take strict action against officials for allegedly concealing data related to deaths.
The former UP chief minister also accused the state government of hiding Covid death figures and claimed that it hid data as it did not want to help the people.
“After the assembly elections in the state and the formation of the SP government, an audit (of Covid-19 management) will be done and officials who had concealed information will face stringent action. During the pandemic, there was a time when it was felt that there was no government in UP. People were left to their fate ,” Akhilesh said while addressing his first press conference after the onset of the second wave of pandemic at the party headquarters here.
“The government did not give the statistics pertaining to the Covid deaths, nor any help was given to them (victims). They (UP government) did not give the statistics as they did not want to help (the people),” Yadav told reporters.
Akhilesh also alleged that people struggled for beds, medicines, oxygen. Many people lost their lives for want of these things. “Had those facilities been available, those people would have been alive. If anybody is responsible for all this, it is the BJP government,” he alleged.
The SP chief also talked about the issue of teachers who allegedly died during panchayat poll duties in the state. “When the teachers went on (panchayat poll) duty, it was said that only three teachers died (on poll duty due to Covid). Later, when teachers’ organisations and we raised questions, the government had to admit that actually how many lives were lost,” he said. (With Agency Inputs)
UP govt should thank officials for helping it rig rural polls, says SP chief
Hitting out at the UP government, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP government “should have thanked the state police and administrative officers for helping it rig the zila panchayat and kshetra panchayat polls”.
“The BJP thanked many for their victory in the polls but they did not thank the police and administrative officers who aided BJP’s goondagardi (hooliganism). Had the police and administrative officers not worked for the BJP, the poll results would have been different,” he said at the press conference.
“When BJP on Saturday celebrated the victory in the block pramukh polls, we saw how they (chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the BJP state president Swatantra Dev Singh shared ladoos) after violating the democracy,” he said.
“How when the people voted in the direct panchayat polls (first phase in April), Samajwadi Party won the elections and BJP got defeated but when the indirect elections happened for the zila panchayat chiefs and then for the block pramukhs, the BJP won,” Akhilesh added.
“I have till now resisted using the word goondagardi (hooliganism), but now I say that no party can surpass BJP in goondagardi”, he alleged.
Reiterating that the SP was preparing a list of all the police and administrative officers who aided BJP in the elections, he said, “We will take action when our party returns to power in 2022 as people are restive to oust BJP from power in the state.”
“I have BJP’s 2017 election manifesto in my hand and I am reading out from it that says BJP will double the income of farmers by 2022. Now I am asking the BJP when and where the income of the farmers had doubled,” the SP chief said.
On the 2022 UP assembly polls, he said, “The Samajwadi Party will form the government in UP 2022. We will take small parties along and talks are going on.”
