SP chief Akhilesh Yadav criticises UP govt's Zero poverty scheme; claims BJP "lying to poor"

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 15 (ANI): SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "lying to the poor," while doing "zero work" for alleviating poverty.
"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 claimed in a post on X.

ज़ीरो होने से पहले हर तरफ़ ज़ीरो नज़र आ रहा है।

जैसे इनका ‘ज़ीरो टॉलरेंस’ ज़ीरो हो गया वैसे ही ‘ज़ीरो पार्वटी’ का जुमलाई-भाजपाई दावा भी होगा। हमारे देश की महान परंपरा ने ‘ज़ीरो’ गणित के लिए दिया था, जनता के बीच झूठ बाँटने के लिए नहीं।

पावर्टी या कहें ग़रीबी कामों से जाती है,… pic.twitter.com/WPa8HqwVF4

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) April 15, 2025

The scathing attack of the SP chief comes a day after UP CM Adityanath announced that the state government's 'Zero Poverty' mission will be named after Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. The CM stated that this initiative, set to be launched later this month, aims to lift every underprivileged and deprived individual above the poverty line.
However, Akhilesh Yadav has claimed that the BJP is only renaming older schemes to present them in a new way without doing any actual work.
"BJP can do their traditional trick of renaming old schemes like 'Ambedkar Village' and 'Lohia Village' and presenting them in a new way, nothing else. 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," Yadav's post read.
"At least don't lie to the poor. Condemnable!" he added.
On Monday, UP CM had made the comments of renaming the scheme at the Ambedkar Mahasabha, to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On this occasion, he also released a commemorative souvenir.
The Chief Minister said, "Over the past eight years, extensive efforts have been made 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 government schemes to improve their quality of life."
CM Yogi asserted that 14-15 lakh families would be identified and connected with the mission in its first phase. Each Gram Panchayat will include 20-25 families without full government benefits access. The double-engine government at the state and centre will work together to provide them with the necessary support. (ANI)