Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday launched a blistering attack on the BJP, saying the party stood for 'bhrasht' (corrupt), 'julm' (oppression) and 'paap' (sin), and claimed that Uttar Pradesh's problems would end only after the ruling party was voted out of power.
Addressing a press conference at the SP state headquarters here, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister alleged that corruption and injustice had become synonymous with the BJP.
"'B' stands for bhrasht, 'J' for julm (a regional pronunciation of the standard word zulm, meaning oppression) and 'P' for paap. All the corrupt, oppressive and sinful people are in the BJP," Yadav said.
He alleged that several expressways built during the BJP government's tenure, including the Lucknow-Kanpur, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal expressways, had become "victims of corruption". He also claimed that land mafias linked to the ruling party had encroached upon important ponds across the state.
"There is only one crisis in Uttar Pradesh and that is the BJP. Once the BJP goes, all crises will end," he said.
The SP chief also questioned the recent use of force against protesting youths at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. He alleged that while the government claimed ignorance about who ordered the baton charge, the police personnel who carried it out knew whose directions they were acting on.
Yadav cautioned government officials against acting unfairly at the behest of the ruling party, saying the BJP would not stand by them if they later faced legal or administrative action.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his recent Instagram reels, Yadav said it was unfortunate that the BJP had "engaged even the prime minister in making reels".
Ayodhya will be BJP's Lanka: Akhilesh Yadav on Ram temple unravelling"When we watch those reels on Instagram, it is painful to see the kind of content being produced," he remarked.
Responding to a question, Yadav said the BJP should explain allegations that all stolen "Ram dhan" was reaching the party.
Referring to legal action initiated against opposition leaders over a recent satirical performance in the Parliament complex linked to an alleged donation theft issue, he questioned why no case had been registered against those who had allegedly portrayed Lord Hanuman in a derogatory manner during a political event.
His remarks were apparently in reference to an incident during BJP national president Nitin Nabin's visit to Uttar Pradesh last month, when a man dressed as Lord Hanuman was seen dancing in front of the leader's convoy.
SP leaders also observed a two-minute silence to mourn the death of party MLA Alam Badi.
Is Yogi’s balancing act to save RSS the blushes?