Akhilesh slams 'patthar wali' BSP sarkar, mocks BJP's 'acche din'

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Jan. 22(ANI): Highlighting his development agenda as he announced the Samajwadi Party's election manifesto for the assembly polls, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday dubbed the BSP as 'patthar wali sarkar' and taunted the BJP's promise of 'achhe din'. Launching a frontal attack on BSP supremo Mayawati, Akhilesh said the 'patthar wali sarkar' has done nothing for the state and just focused on erecting stone statues of elephants, its poll symbol. "If the BSP comes to power, its government will install bigger elephants. Some parties are only interested in combinations, but everyone knows who wants to develop the state," he said. Cornering Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Akhilesh said that people are desperately looking for those who had promised 'acche din'. "They promised to bring 'acchhe din', but three years have passed and the people of the state and the country are still searching for those 'acche din'. They have made us do yoga in place of 'acchhe din' and sometimes gave us 'jhaadu'(broom) to hold while we waited for 'acche din'," he added while asking the BJP to define its concept of 'acche din'. Asserting that the Samajwadi Party does not differentiate between its promises and action, Akhilesh said that his party has fulfilled all the promises made in the 2012 manifesto and completed projects which were not even promised. Akhilesh also attempted to divert attention from the ongoing friction with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav while crediting the latter for imposing faith in him and blessing him to become the Chief Minister at a young age. "I got the chance to become the Chief Minister at a young age. Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) blessed me, we developed the state," he said. Highlighting the projects initiated by his government, the Chief Minister mentioned the ambitious Lucknow-Agra Expressway project and the "excellent quality" of roads under that project. "The people will automatically vote for 'cycle' if they travel on those roads," he said while referring to his party's electoral symbol 'cycle'. Forthrightly admitting that the quality of education was seriously wanting in the state, Akhilesh said that his government plans to work on improving the quality of education in all schools. The Chief Minister stated that his government has worked in every sector while keeping the interests of all sections in mind. "Old age home will be built for old people. Entrepreneurship for youth and vocational centers for youth for skill development along with the Purvanchal Expressway will be built," he said. He also reached out to the female voters while promising pressure cooker for women from poor families. The Chief Minister said Kanya Vidyadhan scheme will be launched to increase the level of literacy among girls. "The government will build hostels for working women, who will also have 50 percent concession in bus fares in UP transport corporation's buses," he added. Continuing his tirade against the BJP, Akhilesh said, "Those who showed us the dream of digital India, I would like to ask what were the steps taken in that direction." "You said move towards digital transaction I would like to ask why digital transaction cannot be done through the laptops we distributed. Even today when the laptop is switched on the home screen has picture of me and Netaji. We will also be distributing Smartphones to students," he added while reaching out to the youth. Akhilesh said entrepreneurship for youth and vocational centers for youth for skill development will be built. The Chief Minister, who released the manifesto in the absence of his father, said special focus will be on the skill development of minorities in accordance with their share in population of the state. "We will carry minorities, Muslims along with us," he added. Uttar Pradesh will vote in seven phases beginning February 11 and results will be announced on March 11. (ANI)