BJP govt did nothing in past 6 months: Akhilesh

“The first six months of the second term of the BJP government have passed without doing any work like the past five years, and government could not control corruption in the state,” Yadav, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said.

“The BJP government called a second session of the Assembly, but its efficiency has been exposed as districts have still not received budget from the government and development works have ceased,” he said.

Talking about farmers, Akhilesh said the government “has been exposed in the Assembly after it accepted that it has no intention of providing free electricity to farmers”. “The promise made before the elections to give free electricity has been turned into a jumla (rhetoric)… The government is not interested in clearing the dues of sugarcane farmers. There is no arrangement for fertilizers, seeds and water for farming,” the former chief minister said.

He also claimed that in the last six months, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seemed to be “helpless”. “Despite his (Adityanath’s) strict instructions and directions, there hasn’t been a decrease in crime in the state. There is not a day when robberies, murders, and kidnappings are not reported in the state. Crimes against women and rapes are giving the state a bad name in the whole country,” the SP chief alleged.

He also alleged that BJP workers have started to think “themselves as the government”. “Sometimes, they are seen threatening officials or the MLAs are heard criticising the government. BJP leaders’ names are coming up in illegal actions and the government is giving them patronage instead of acting against them,” Yadav said.

Alleging a jump in corruption and inflation, the SP chief said: “In PWD and some other departments, the BJP government indulged in the loot of money and the probes ordered were done to whitewash the issues.”

“Big promises of employment were made, but the youth did not get employment. There was a lot of discussion about capital investment, but no capital investment came to the state… Neither industry nor employment was created. The decline in the education and health sector has continued. Along with children’s education, the system of medicine and treatment is at a standstill. There is a scam in every department and inflation is rampant. Everyone is suffering because of the impact of GST,” he added.

“All economists have agreed that unemployment has increased after the Covid pandemic and people’s income has decreased. There has been an indiscriminate increase in the fees for students under the BJP government. Students protesting against this are being beaten up with sticks,” said the SP chief alluding to the current protests at Allahabad University over fee hikes.