Lucknow: Citing news reports that prices of edible oils have registered an increase of 33% in the past one month before Diwali, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that the surge has dimmed the sparkle of festivities and has come as another blow to the common man from the BJP govt.
He said that BJP's negative approach in governance had tarnished the image of Uttar Pradesh where custodial deaths and fake encounters were rampant.
Referring to reports that palm oil price has gone up by 37% and mustard oil by 29% in the past month, the former UP CM said the price rise was not like one that came with the rise in demand of a commodity.
"This price rise has come because of BJP's economics of profiteering and track record of reducing the content of packed commodities," he alleged.
Earlier, the SP chief had accused the BJP govt of "quietly" reducing the content of a sack of fertilizers by 5 kg without reducing the selling price and instead claimed that the price of fertilizer had not been increased.
"BJP ne tyoharon ke rang pheeke kar diye hain (BJP has dimmed the sparkle of festivities)," Akhilesh said in a social media post in Hindi.
In a statement issued earlier in the day, he accused the BJP govt of politicizing the state police. He said the police were being used to implicate opposition leaders in false cases and instances of custodial deaths and fake encounters were being overlooked by the BJP govt.
"BJP govt's negative approach has tarnished the image of Uttar Pradesh," Akhilesh said.
Faizabad MP among SP's star campaigners
The Samajwadi Party on Saturday released the list of its star campaigners for the UP assembly bypoll. The 19-member list has party president Akhilesh Yadav and veterans like Azam Khan, Ram Gopal Yadav, Shivpal Yadav, Dimple Yadav and Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan. Ayodhya MP Awadhesh Prasad is the newest entrant in the list.
The list also includes names of state president Shyam Lal Pal and MP Babu Singh Kushwaha. Others in the list are Hirendra Malik, Ramji Lal Suman, Lalji Verma, Ashok Prasad, Naresh Uttam Patel, Indrajit Saroj, and leader of opposition in the state assembly Mata Prasad Pandey. Kamal Akhtar, Ram Achal Rajbhar and Vishambhar Prasad Nishad also figure among star campaigners.
According to a Samajwadi Party release, prominent leaders will actively campaign to support the party candidates in the upcoming elections. Nine of the ten vacant assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will go to polls on Nov 13, except Milkipur in Ayodhya district.