Akhilesh Yadav asks BJP why farmers are troubled if 'following Sardar Patel's footsteps'

Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party for on one side, reiterating that they follow the footprints of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and on the other side, causing distress to the farmers. On the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on Sunday, many BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that 'inspired by Sardar Patel, India was ready to meet all challenges.' Also, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from BJP, Yogi Adityanth, while remembering the freedom fighter, called him a 'well-wisher' of the farmers. 

Taking a dig on the same, Akhilesh Yadav while speaking to the media said, "BJP leaders say they follow the footprints of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, but today, the farmers are in distress & their income is not doubled."

The Samajwadi Party chief also took the occasion to slam the BJP government for the deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh. "Law & order situation is in the worst state in UP," he claimed, adding that the people of the state have, therefore, decided to throw BJP out of power in the upcoming assembly election scheduled for 2022. Earlier in the day, in a conversation with Republic Media Network, Akhilesh Yadav exuded hope that the SP may win more than 400 seats in the elections.

'No difference between Congress and BJP'

Akhilesh Yadav also underlined that there was no difference between Congress and BJP. 'Congress is BJP and BJP is Congress,' the SP chief reiterated, stating that the investigation of ED & CBI going on against him and other leaders is because of Congress. 

With BJP ruling UP under the leadership of CM Yogi Adityanath, several fronts have cropped up to challenge the ruling party. SP chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav has stated that Samajwadi Party will only ally with smaller political parties for the 2022 Assembly polls, including Mahan Dal, NCP, SBSP. BSP's Mayawati has already announced that her party will fight polls alone in UP and Uttarakhand while allying only with Akali Dal in Punjab. Congress has aggressively campaigned under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi in the state, eyeing its solo return.