LUCKNOW: The new-found bonhomie between the
Samajwadi Party and the
Bahujan Samaj Party saw another first on Thursday, when SP chief
Akhilesh Yadav issued a statement extending his wishes on the 84th birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram, the founder of BSP.
In his statement, Akhilesh said Kanshi Ram fought for social justice all his life. The statement came as BSP chief Mayawati addressed a rally in Chandigarh to mark
Kanshi Ram Jayanti.
This was possibly the first time that Akhilesh, as SP office bearer, has issued a statement on Kanshi Ram's birth anniversary.
Earlier in the day, commenting on his meeting with Mayawati on Wednesday, Akhilesh said, "Sometimes we have to forget the past to move ahead." He added that he never believed in spoiling his relations with anyone and the results were for everyone to see.
Akhilesh once again took on the use of EVMs during elections, claiming that technical snags in voting machines during bypolls in
Gorakhpur disrupted smooth polling.
"Faulty machines resulted in polling being stopped for hours at several booths, had that not been the case, the margin of victory for SP would have been greater," he said. Akhilesh reiterated that in many other democracies of the world, ballot paper was used.
