Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of making false claims about poverty alleviation while delivering “zero work.”
Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Yadav ridiculed the BJP’s newly announced ‘Zero Poverty’ mission, saying:
“Before becoming zero, zero is visible everywhere. Just like their ‘zero tolerance’ became zero, similarly, the Jumlai-BJP claim of ‘Zero Poverty’ will also become zero. The great tradition of our country gave ‘zero’ for mathematics, not for spreading lies among the public.”
Yadav’s criticism came a day after CM Yogi announced that the state’s ‘Zero Poverty’ mission will be named after Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, as a tribute to the architect of the Constitution. The scheme, set to launch later this month, aims to uplift every underprivileged individual above the poverty line.
However, Yadav claimed the initiative is a repackaging of older welfare schemes such as ‘Ambedkar Village’ and ‘Lohia Village’, with no concrete new efforts on the ground.
“BJP can do their traditional trick of renaming old schemes and presenting them in a new way, nothing else,” he wrote.
Continuing his attack, the former UP Chief Minister added:
“Before making a new promise, the BJP should transfer Rs 15 lakh to the accounts and also go and see the plight of the adopted village and first wipe off the layers of dust accumulated on false promises like house for everyone and water for every house.”
“At least don’t lie to the poor. Condemnable!” Yadav concluded in his post.
On Monday, while speaking at the Ambedkar Mahasabha on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, CM Adityanath had laid out the contours of the mission. He stated that around 14 to 15 lakh families will be identified in the first phase. Each Gram Panchayat will shortlist 20–25 families currently outside the reach of government welfare schemes.
Highlighting the targeted communities, the Chief Minister said:
“Efforts have been made over the last eight years to saturate benefits among marginalized communities such as the Musahar, Tharu, Vantangiya, Kol, Buksa, Chero, Gond, and Sahariya. Every deserving individual has been connected with schemes to improve their quality of life.”
He emphasized that the “double-engine government” — a term often used to describe the BJP’s rule at both state and central levels — will jointly implement this mission to ensure its success.
With both sides holding firm, the political clash over the ‘Zero Poverty’ initiative appears to be intensifying in the run-up to the elections, with the SP portraying it as political optics, while the BJP insists it’s a serious mission to transform lives.