Beware of 'chamatkaari' BJP: Akhilesh

Lakhimpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Jan. 25 (ANI): Continuing his tirade against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today dubbed the saffron party as 'chamatkaari' and urged the voters to steer away from the communal and divisive forces attempting to spread hatred in the Indian society. The Chief Minister also went all guns blazing at the demonetisation drive on the second day of his election campaign while reiterating his earlier stand that money is not black or white. "If we are doing a business and earning money, but are not paying taxes then that money becomes black for us. And if we are paying that same money to another person and he is paying taxes then that money becomes white for him. The BJP doesn't understand this simple dynamic. Even the taxed money was declared black by Prime Minister Modi," Akhilesh said. "Beware of the 'chamatkaari' party. It's trying to lead you astray into voting for them," he added while alleging that the BJP has ruined the political system. "The BJP has ruined politics in the nation in the three years of its rule. The party didn't take any decisions for the development of the nation. We can, on the other hand, tell you so many initiatives that were taken for the development of the state," he said. The Chief Minister also used the occasion to reach out to the farming community and lambasted the BJP's decision to import sugar into the country. "We let our sugar mills run under debts and paid for the losses of the farmers. It was the money of the state government that went into paying for the debts. Our state is the leading producer of sugarcane and sugar, but the BJP still went ahead and imported sugar from other countries," he said. Akhilesh also hit back at Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati and sough an explanation as to what had her party done so far for development of Uttar Pradesh. The Chief Minister's outburst against his predecessor came days after she accused him of running a 'corrupt' regime and shielding criminals and communal forces. Expressing his confidence of winning the trust of the people, Akhilesh said, "Our manifesto is so good that other parties are now scared to even go out and campaign for their candidates because they know that whatever we have written will be fulfilled." Akhilesh also expressed faith in his party's alliance with the Congress for the elections. "Earlier, we were riding the 'cycle' alone. But, now we have the fortune of companionship of 'haath'. You have to think and imagine what feats we can achieve now," he said. Akhilesh said that his party's immediate agenda was betterment of primary schools in the state and improvement of the condition of district hospitals. "I visited a primary school once. There were only nine students there. I asked them whether the student count was nine only to which they agreed. This was irrespective of the fact that there were more than nine students registered in the school," he said. Akhilesh added, "So, our main focus right now is improving the condition of these primary schools and hospitals. We have improved the ambulance services and we are looking forward to improve the conditions of district hospitals so that the people don't have to go to private hospitals to receive good medical treatment. The underprivileged and those who are registered under the Samajwadi Pension Scheme will get free of cost medical treatment." The Chief Minister further enlisted the development works undertaken by his regime. "We developed a better road network between Agra and Lucknow in order to build a 'mandi' and facilitate increase in business of milk and milk products," he said. He added, "We provided employment to more than one lakh youth. People do BA, MA, MBA, but that doesn't assure a job. So, if a person after Class X, XI or XII wants to pursue a different graph, we will take the onus of providing him vocational training and employment opportunities." Akhilesh also highlighted the achievements in the field of electricity and water supply management. "We have improved the electricity supply in many towns and cities and established service stations, transmission lines and transformers," he said. "We have also been working on facilitating the repair of transformers within 48 hours. We have worked for every sector - road, electricity, water supply - and the 'jungles' of the state. Only proper development of these sectors can lead to establishment of a greater number of industries in the state," he added. Akhilesh further said, "We have also launched a new housing scheme under which the citizens have got houses worth Rs. 3, 05,000 each." Akhilesh also talked of the special 'Farmers Fund' included in the Samajwadi Party's election manifesto. "In our manifesto, we have promised a separate fund for the farmers. If the farmer is suffering or is under bank debt, he can take help from the 'Farmers' Fund' as specified in the manifesto. And this is the first time that this kind of fund is being assigned for the farmers," he said. Akhilesh also said that his party doesn't discriminate between people on the basis of caste or religion unlike the opposition. He said, "We are often accused to be a party of Muslims. We are just trying to serve the state and its people, but the opposing parties are maligning us by putting different allegations against us. We do not discriminate between people. We give Samajwadi Pension to everybody. We gave laptops to all irrespective of their caste or religion." The poll process in Uttar Pradesh begins on February 11. 73 constituencies in Western Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in this phase. Uttar Pradesh is set to have a seven-phase polling between February 11 and March 8. (ANI)