Speaking to India Today TV during the UP poll campaign trail, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the BJP for accusing him of ‘parivarvad’. The SP chief claimed that only people with families could feel the pain the public felt during the Covid crisis.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders for accusing him and his family of ‘parivarvad’. Speaking to India Today TV’s Rajdeep Sardesai during the UP poll campaign in Kanpur, the SP chief said that only people with families could feel the pain felt by families during the lockdown and the Covid crisis.
Only people who have families can understand the pain that women felt when they had to walk hundreds of kilometres with their babies or when they lost their loved ones due to lack of oxygen and other medical supplies. What people went through when the cylinders remained empty, prices of food and medicines shot up, all this can only be felt with someone who has a family,” Akhilesh Yadav said.
“People who do not have families cannot feel the public’s pain,” he said.
When asked about ‘parivarvad’ or nepotism in his party, Akhilesh Yadav said that even BJP leaders have benefitted from familial connections.
“Is there no parivarvad in the BJP? What is Amit Shah’s son doing? How did he become BCCI secretary? Does he know bowling or batting? Even Yogi ji got the responsibility of Gorakhnath Mutt because of his uncle,” Akhilesh Yadav said.
The SP chief also slammed the saffron camp for raising questions about the poll campaign by Mulayam Singh Yadav. “What does the BJP want from me? If Netaji [Mulayam Singh] does not come out then they call me Aurangzeb. If he does, then also, they raise questions. Netaji went to Mainpuri because it is his bastion,” Akhilesh Yadav said.
Claiming that the BJP was on the outs in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party chief said that each and every BJP MLA was ready to switch to his party.
“They keep talking about 80:20. The real 80:20 is the fact that 80 per cent of the parties are with us. If I had made any effort, each and every MLA was ready to switch, but I have a limit. How many can I take,” Akhilesh said.
Akhilesh Yadav also claimed that the law and order deteriorated under CM Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the last five years and the state became the most unsafe place for women. The former CM claimed that Yogi Adityanath destroyed the efforts of his government to modernise the UP Police and create a world-class response system.
Uttar Pradesh is a seven-phase assembly election. The first three phases were held on February 10, February 14, and February 20. The next four will be held on February 23, February 27, March 3, and March 7. The result will be declared on March 10.
