BJP using communal politics to divert attention from inflation: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday accused the BJP of diverting attention from rising inflation by creating a communal atmosphere and alleged that the ruling party opposed reservation for women, backward classes, Dalits and tribals.

Asked about the BJP observing the 11th anniversary of the Muzaffarnagar riots and posters related to the violence appearing in some places, Yadav said the ruling party wanted to win elections through communal polarisation.

"Inflation is not an issue for them, nor is anything else. Look at how inflation is rising. What hasn't become expensive? They are neither accepting that inflation exists nor addressing the problem," Yadav said.

He alleged that inflation was increasing because the government was allowing its "people" to make profits and engage in corruption.

Yadav questioned the government's claims of high GDP growth, citing an incident in Jhansi where a poor man allegedly could not afford to take his wife's body home from hospital or perform her last rites, forcing him to dump the body in a river.

"As an economist rightly pointed out recently, the GDP is zero because if GDP is growing at 7.2, 7.8 or 7.9 per cent, as they claim, then why is a poor person unable to take his wife home or perform her last rites?" he asked.

Taking a dig at Lucknow securing the top rank in a national clean-air survey, Yadav said air quality should be checked again after the rains stop and weather conditions normalise. He promised better work on air and water quality and the environment if the SP returns to power in 2027.

He also took a swipe at the government over waterlogging in "Kyoto" (Varanasi) and "Spain" (Gorakhpur), saying those unable to drain rainwater from their own cities could not address flood-related problems elsewhere. He frequently refers to Varanasi as Kyoto and Gorakhpur as Spain in sarcasm.

Yadav alleged irregularities in highways and expressways constructed under the BJP government and accused the ruling party of involvement in "Ram temple donation theft".

Asked about BSP chief Mayawati expelling her nephew Akash Anand from the party, Yadav said it was an internal decision. "It is a decision of their party. People from other parties cannot say anything about it," he said.

Asked whether he would induct Anand into the SP if he wanted to join, Yadav replied, "If you bring him, we will take him."

On the BJP posting AI-generated videos featuring leaders of other parties on social media, Yadav told reporters, "The BJP is nobody's own."

Yadav also announced that the SP would prepare district-specific manifestos for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections alongside its state-wide manifesto, saying local issues often get overlooked when the focus is on the entire state.

(With inputs from PTI)