Kannauj (Uttar Pradesh) [India]: Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav strongly criticized Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath following his speech in the State Assembly during the UP budget session. Yadav accused the BJP government of failing to address large-scale unemployment and alleged that BJP leaders were “speaking lies” regarding the state’s development.
Expressing concerns over the future of the youth, Yadav claimed that job opportunities have remained scarce in the state over the last nine years.
“Farmers are in losses, and the government is not compensating them… There is unemployment on a large scale. The government could not provide employment to the youth in the last nine years. Think, if the youth do not get employment, what will be their future? And if the youth do not have a future, then the future of the state and our country will not be good,” Yadav told reporters.
He further accused the BJP of misleading the public about power supply in the state.
“I am witnessing that the people of the Bharatiya Janata Party are speaking lies sitting inside the state assembly. They are claiming that there is a 24-hour power supply. But here, locals are telling us that there is no electricity. And if the electricity is supplied, it has been made costlier. A lot of money is being collected from them,” he alleged.
Additionally, Yadav criticized the imposition of GST on agricultural equipment, arguing that it has made farmers’ tools more expensive and increased inflation. “This inflation is due to profiteering. This government wants to make a profit,” he claimed.
Yogi Adityanath Defends Government’s Performance
In response, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath countered Yadav’s claims, accusing the Samajwadi Party of attempting to defame the state.
Speaking in the State Assembly, Adityanath said, “They (Samajwadi Party) left no stone unturned to defame Prayagraj. You were spreading propaganda about Prayagraj… As someone has rightly said, ‘Jiski jaisi drishti waisi uski srishti’… They were finding ways to defame Prayagraj. Some people were saying in Parliament that thousands of people have died in Maha Kumbh, but 28,000 people were reunited with their families during Maha Kumbh.”
He further alleged that both the Samajwadi Party and Congress were trying to defame India rather than just opposing the BJP.
“Samajwadi Party and Congress only want to defame India. Their fight may be against BJP, but sometimes by fighting against BJP, they go against India,” he remarked.
Government’s Policies and Achievements
Adityanath highlighted that his government had been distributing financial aid to the public without discrimination, unlike the previous Samajwadi Party government.
“For the last eight and a half years, money is being given to the public from the ‘Mukhyamantri Vivekadhin Kosh’ without any discrimination on the basis of caste, region, language. When the Samajwadi Party was in power, only people associated with the Samajwadi Party were given money. In the BJP government, money is being given to the people of UP as per the policy without any discrimination,” he stated.
He also emphasized his government’s focus on improving healthcare, noting that medical colleges were being established across the state.
“From independence till 2017, only 17 government medical colleges were built in UP. After our government was formed, a medical college is being built in every district,” he added.
The ongoing UP budget session, which started on February 20, will continue until March 5, setting the stage for more political debates and policy discussions.