A day ahead of the municipal elections in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday asked voters to be wary of Bahujan Samaj Party as it was "hand-in-glove with the ruling BJP".
With Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad now by his side, Akhilesh said the SP was moving ahead on the principles and ideology of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar.
"Bahujan Samaj Party andar hi andar BJP se mili hui hai. Chunav mein BSP se savdhan rehna (BJP has quietly joined hands with the BJP. Beware of the BSP during the polls)," Akhilesh said.He further said, "The BJP is banking on the politics of hate and is out to divide people by pitting Hindus against Muslims and other sections of society.
They have to fall back on such tricks because they have done nothing in terms of development that they can showcase and seek votes on."Responding to a query, Akhilesh said the urban local body polls were about civic amenities in urban areas but the ruling BJP, despite already having a triple engine government operating in the state, had failed to do anything for garbage heaps by the roadside and poor medical facilities in the city.
"The BJP government is at the Centre, in UP and was also in place in several corporations all these years. What have they done?" he asked.The SP president said the BJP has no answers to the needs of the people, which is why the chief minister talks of 'tamanchas' (country-made pistols) in polls instead of listing achievements in providing civic amenities to the people.
"You ask him about policy on waste management, he will talk about 'tamancha'. You ask him about health infrastructure, he will talk about 'tamancha'. This is because he has no answers to the questions people are asking," he said.
Akhilesh further said, "The chief minister calls others mafia dons. Had he himself not withdrawn criminal cases that were pending against him, he would have had a chargesheet more comprehensive than any other."