Be Wary Of BJP: Akhilesh To Farmers; Jayant Says SP-RLD Tie-Up 'Solid'

Appearing here with his ally RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday asked farmers to be wary of the BJP, saying the ruling party's government had withdrawn its controversial farm laws only for the sake of votes. He also assured farmers that if their alliance forms the government in Uttar Pradesh, they will not allow the implementation of any such anti-farmer law in the state.

Yadav made the statement addressing a joint press conference with Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary, who on the occasion said his party's alliance with the SP is "solid" and aimed at furthering the cause of farmers. Ahead of the Assembly polls, the BJP is reaching out to the Jats in western Uttar Pradesh, from where members of the community had taken part in the year-long stir against the laws at the Delhi's border points.

BJP leaders had also asked the RLD chief to join hands with their party after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Jat leaders in Delhi on Wednesday. Lashing out at the BJP, Yadav said, "The BJP had promised to double the income of farmers but it brought the three anti-farmer laws. The farmers forced the government to repeal the laws. The BJP rolled back the laws for the sake of votes. The BJP is a party which brings laws without telling anything."

Yadav asserted that on coming to power, their party won't implement any such law in the state and said he and Chaudhary are taking forward the cause of farmers championed by former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh, his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and the late farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait. Chaudhary said earlier people had doubts if the both parties would forge an alliance. "Our confluence had taken place much earlier. We want UP to develop and have forged the alliance as we want to take the fight of Chaudhary Charan Singh ahead," he said remembering his grandfather. Yadav also said, "Both of us are sons of farmers and will continue to fight till the last breath for their rights."

The Samajwadi Party chief said that they will make arrangements for the purchase of crops on the minimum support price. A corpus fund will be made so that farmers do not have to wait for the payment of sugarcane dues, Yadav said. The SP chief said that they will give 300 units of electricity free to domestic consumers. The former chief minister also promised free electricity for irrigation purposes. He added that the SP will also give "Samajwadi pension".

"The BJP should now look back at its election manifesto and see whether the promises it made have been fulfilled or not. When the BJP declines, it attempts to divert the attention from the basic issues," he said. "I am hopeful that the Ganga-Jamuni 'tehzeeb' (culture) and brotherhood will negate the negative thought process in this election," he said. The SP chief said this time the BJP will face a "political exodus".

"Have you not seen what type of exodus our Baba CM (Yogi Adityanath) has to make. He was seeking ticket from Ayodhya, Mathura or Prayagraj. The BJP sent him back home," he said referring the CM’s candidature from Gorakhpur Urban, the area which he had represented in Parliament earlier. Later speaking to reporters in Meerut, Akhilesh reiterated that Chaudhary Charan Singh should be awarded the Bharat Ratna. "Jayant Chaudharyji and I will remove the politics of negativity and we will fight to save our Ganga-Jamuni ‘tehzeeb’ (culture) and brotherhood," Yadav said.

Yadav had reached Muzaffarnagar late for the press conference, claiming earlier in the day that he was stranded in Delhi as his helicopter was not allowed to take off. In a Hindi tweet, the SP president posted a picture with a helicopter in the background and said no reason was given for it. "My helicopter is still detained in Delhi without assigning any reason and not being allowed to go to Muzaffarnagar, whereas a top BJP leader has just flown from here. This is a desperate conspiracy of the losing BJP. People are understanding everything," he said in his tweet.

With PTI Inputs