Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Monday alleged the BJP government was laying the foundation stone of several projects and inaugurating several others as it senses a defeat in the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh.
His statement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated nine medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh virtually and lashed out at the previous government in the State for "ignoring" basic medical needs of the people of the Purvanchal region while "filling the coffers" of their families.
"Now as elections are near and people are going to defeat them (the BJP), they are doing such events," Mr. Yadav said when asked about the inauguration of medical colleges.
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He asked why existing medical colleges "were not getting" funds and a medical university in the name of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was still not fully functional.
The university in the name of Atal Bihar Vajpayee functions from the ninth floor of Ram Manohar Lohia Institute, which is also not getting due budget, he claimed.
"Why medical colleges in Saharanpur, Budaun, Agra, Kanpur, Jaunpur, Firozabad, Jhansi, Banda, Azamgarh and even King George Medical University Lucknow are not getting funds.
"Where was the government when it had to ensure the availability of oxygen, beds, medicines and treatment to people during the second wave of coronavirus? It left people orphaned," he said.
The health infrastructure of the State has collapsed, he alleged.
On Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's announcement to distribute tablets to students, Mr. Yadav said, "what was he doing for over four and a half years?" The name of Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway of the previous regime has been changed and its alignment has also been altered, he said.
He also said the funds for the Kushinagar airport was also given by his regime.
"They (BJP leaders and PM) were not there to inaugurate the airport. They are here to see it. It is possible they might sell it in the days to come," Mr. Yadav said.
Earlier, inaugurating the medical colleges, Prime Minister Minister said the BJP's priority is to provide basic facilities to the poor.
In an apparent attack on the Samajwadi Party government which ruled the State before the BJP came to power in 2017, Mr. Modi said, "their ‘cycle’ of corruption ran 24 hours. They had the priority of earning for themselves and filling the coffers of their families while for us the priority is to extend basic facilities to the poor."