BJP govts at Centre, in U.P. working at cross purposes: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday alleged that the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state were working at cross purposes as he claimed that the countdown to the Uttar Pradesh government had begun.
Yadav though did not directly name CM Yogi Adityanath or his government, his reference to the BJP government in the state was obvious. He said the people are against them (BJP government) and they (BJP government) consider the officers as the office bearers (of political party).
“The BJP governments at the Centre and in the state are working at cross purposes and two engines of the BJP’s double engine government are running in opposite directions. Those who should have built bridges of communal amity are laying explosives,” Yadav said.
“The countdown of those who indulge in encounters has begun and this will be seen in the by-elections (to nine UP assembly seats,” he said while speaking to media persons at the SP headquarters here where a special programme to mark birthday of Khazanchi (the boy born in a bank in Kanpur during demonetisation) was organised on Saturday.
“As Khazanchi grows further, one sees the failure of demonetisation clearer. In fact, the demonetisation is the biggest economic corruption in the world. The BJP government has failed to achieve any of the targets set at the time of demonetisation which has turned out to be only a showoff,” the SP chief claimed.
“Its impact has been like that of a slow poison. It has affected farmers, labourers, middle class, salaried class, professionals, small shop owners and street vendors alike. Besides the demonetisation, the BJP government’s other decisions like the GST have affected small traders,” he further claimed.
About the Yogi government (without naming), Yadav said, “The countdown has begun of those known for encounters. He (CM) will not continue in the government for days fewer than he has been there. This is why his language has changed, and his ways of undertaking things have changed. The fact remains that bitterness in his mind is leading to bitter words.”
Targeting the CM again (without naming him), the SP chief said, “Those who withdrew cases against them and got fake cases registered against others should speak less or the truth about them will not remain a secret. What kind of a Yogi is he when even seers are getting partisan treatment and division is caused in the society during his tenure.”
“Those in government are dividing the seers. We have a tradition that the bigger the seer the lesser he speaks and when he speaks he does for people’s welfare, and this is why his utterances are called sermons… We will have to get his qualifications checked because everyone should know about the same in view of the language he speaks. Robes don’t make a Yogi, his words do so,” he said.
Yadav said there was a tradition of seers speaking less but everything has gone opposite in the Kaliyuga. “Mridubhasi (softspoken) have become harsh speakers, those who should speak the truth are telling lies, those who should run the government are running bulldozers and the symbol of development is symbolising destruction,” he alleged.
The SP chief quoted the Supreme Court’s observations about the current government and said, “This is the first time that the Supreme Court has imposed a penalty of ₹25 lakh on the present government. The SC raised questions about the law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh.”
The SP leader said the BJP government in the state was being run on whims and not as per the provisions of the Constitution. About Yogi’s attacks on the SP about the women feeling unsafe, Yadav said the chief minister should correct his facts and get his eyes tested.
“He (CM) should get his eyes tested. He (Yogi Adityanath) should speak something with facts,” he said.
Replying to a question about shortage of fertilisers, Yadav said the BJP government has a negative mindset. He said the media should have live TV cameras in rural areas to show the situation there.