Conspiracy to waylay us, but we’re back on track: Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW: Acknowledging openly that a conspiracy aimed to destabilise the Samajwadi Party had now been thwarted, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday brushed aside charges that the young and old supporters of the Samajwadi Party were involved in a running quarrel for supremacy.
Kicking off the SP Vikas Rath Yatra from Lucknow, Akhilesh emphasised that his youth supporters were not a separate arm of the Samajwadi Party.In a nuanced speech attempting to show that all had been settled within the warring factions, Akhilesh said, “Koi agar yeh keh de ki keval 3 tareekh ka karykram nahin hoga, keval 5 ka karyakram hoga, to main sankalp leta hoon ki 3 aur 5 ke karyakram mein naujawan rahenge. Yeh sarkar dobara kaise baney uska karyakram hai. Logon ne saazish ki, gumraah kiya. Jiski wajah se humlog thoda dagmagayein hain. Lekin mujhe khushi hai ki naujawan humare saath hain, aur Samajwadi sarkar dobara poorna bahumat ke saath aayegi.” (If someone says the programme of November 3 must not be held, only the one on November 5 should go on, I pledge the youth will participate equally in that programme. This is a battle to ensure the SP forms a majority government again and I am glad for the youth support to the programme.)
The chief minister was alluding to an open attack by uncle Shivpal Yadav, saying the flagging off of Akhilesh’s Vikas Rath was a programme by the party youth wing—most of them sacked from the party by the state chief—and that he had no reason to attend the programme. Shivpal has, instead, been concentrating his energies on planning the programme of September 5, the event to mark the silver jubilee celebrations of the Samajwadi Party, where the Mahagathbandhan partners will also remain present.
Emphasising the common goal—for ensuring a majority SP government returns to power in UP—for all within the SP, Akhilesh also sought to emphasise the “balanced” development and change that the SP government had brought in UP. Crediting SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for starting the first pre-election rath in UP during his own chief ministerial tenure, Akhilesh also said he was privileged to lead the Samajwadi rath for a third time ahead of the impending assembly polls.
Later, in Unnao, the chief minister also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for lip service the BJP government was paying to the armed forces in the country. Akhilesh said while Prime Minister Modi was, on one hand, celebrating Diwali with jawans at the border, former soldiers were committing suicide—referring to ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal’s suicide over OROP—for their unresolved problems. “What solution do you have to help them,” Akhilesh asked, adding, “Samajwadi Party has done a lot for the welfare of the martyrs’ family. We distributed cheques to martyrs' family. Even today, from this stage, we have given a cheque of Rs 20 lakh to martyr Krishna Kumar's family.”
Accusing the BJP of wedging a divide within different castes and religions in the country, Akhilesh said, “All they want to do is fight. You all must be extra cautious with these communal people as they will do anything to misguide you.”
The CM also alleged that the BJP, despite its promise of ‘achchhe-din’ had been able to deliver nothing for UP since they came to power in 2014. “they came up with ‘acche-din’, then Digital India, followed by Smart City concept. Tell me if even one of their projects has taken off yet,” Yadav asked.
Chief minister also attacked Bahujan Samaj Party and said Mayawati had done little except squandering money on constructing elephants, statues and memorials. “The BSP government installed elephants in Lucknow...in past nine years but they have remained static...,” he said.