In a bizarre move the Samajwadi party president Akhilesh Yadav has defended the superstition saying the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will never return to power in future as they went to inaugurate the NOIDA-South Delhi section of the Delhi metro. Prime minister and Yogi Adityanath had visited the jinxed place NOIDA on December 25 to inaugurate the metro rail line. No UP chief minister had visited NOIDA in last three decades.
“Accha Hua Yogi-Modi NOIDA gaye, Ab Iska Asar Dikhyaee Dega ( Its good that Modi and Yogi went to NOIDA, its impact will be visible very soon) said Akhilesh Yadav addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Akhilesh referred to the ‘Noida jinx’ and said that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath will never return to power as they went there to re-inaugurate the Noida leg of Delhi Metro which he had already inaugurated.
In 2012 Akhilesh Yadav had refused to visit NOIDA for inaugurating the Yamuna expressway linking Agra with NOIDA. He had conducted the ceremony from Lucknow. Noida jinx is the superstition prevalent among political parties and chief ministers in UP that a person who goes to NOIDA during his or her tenure loses the next elections. Adityanath, despite the jinx, went to Noida recently for the inauguration.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25 had lauded the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for defying superstition and said there was no space for blind faith in governance. PM also said that due to his (Adityanath’s) attire, a few people believe that the Chief Minister is not modern but he has done what earlier Chief Ministers of U.P. have never done — travelled to NOIDA.
Recalling his Kranti Rath Yatra that led to his becoming chief minister of UP in March 2012, Akhilesh Yadav said he will make SP a national party and may take out a yatra across the country to achieve the objective.
Akhilesh also asked Adityanath to call a cabinet meet on Monday and re-introduce Samajwadi Party Pension Yojana so that women could buy sweaters for their school-going children to whom the government could not provide school uniform sweaters.
“What can one expect from the government that failed to provide even sweaters to children? The BJP is the biggest party in the country with crores of members. Had each member of the party either weaved or provided a sweater each, then none of the children would have been without sweaters,” he said.
The BJP?and the SP?had engaged in a war of words over the state government’s delay in distributing sweaters to 1.54 crore students of state-run primary and upper primary schools (up to class 8). Leaders of both parties targeted children and parents of their opponents. Akhilesh had jibed in a tweet that the BJP?would complete the tender process for sweaters in May-June, the peak of summer.
On potato throwing by “distressed farmers” outside CM’s home and the state Assembly, Akhilesh said: “The government took action against cops on being negligent on duty that led to potato throwing without a check. But the government is not looking at its own negligence that forced the farmers to do what they did.”
Referring at Adityanath’s Himanchal Pradesh polls rallies, he said: “He had announced there that government made arrangements for better prices to potato farmers. What happened to that?” On the issue of saffron paint on UP Haj Committee office’s boundary wall in Lucknow, the SP leader took a dig at the BJP, saying they turned jittery and “overnight restored the original cream colour”.
“The government should concentrate on changing the heart of people by doing development and welfare works than changing the colours of buildings,” he said.
When asked to respond on SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s comment that he will contest Lok Sabha polls from his original Mainpuri seat, Akhilesh said: “He will contest the polls from whichever seat he wishes to. Entire party and I will rally behind him and for him to win”. Mulayam had contested Mainpuri and Azamgarh seats in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He won both, but vacated Mainpuri to let his grand-nephew Tej Pratap Singh Yadav contest and win it. “I know from where Tej Pratap will contest in that case,” he said.
Asked about his meeting with like-minded opposition parties on Saturday to discuss the EVM issue, SP president said, “We demand that before the Lok Sabha polls, two bye-elections of Gorakhpur and Phulpur be held using ballot papers.” On possibilities of coalition and alliance with other parties in the days to come, he said the matter would be discussed with other parties.