Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday cautioned those engaged in recent lathi charges, warning they could face similar treatment themselves in future.
Addressing a public event in the Kundarki area of Moradabad ahead of the November 20 bypolls, Yadav condemned the handling of protests, particularly citing the recent incident involving UPPSC aspirants in Prayagraj.
Government service aspirants held demonstration in Prayagraj on Monday in large numbers against the decision of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) to hold the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) preliminary, and Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer (ARO) exams on different dates, citing violation of rules.
"This (BJP) is the government which engages in lathi charge. Yaad rakhna lathi chalaane walon, ye jo lathi aap chala rahe ho, yeh jaisi seva aap kar rahe ho waisi seva aapko bhi kabhi kabhi milegi (Remember, those using the lathi now may face the same treatment in return someday)," Yadav remarked.
SP's Kundarki bypoll candidate Haji Rizwan stood next to the former chief minister on stage during the address.
Referring to the Prayagraj incident, where UPPSC students were lathi-charged while pressing their demands, Yadav alleged that this was the government's way of suppressing people because they no longer have popular support.
In a series of pointed comments, Yadav attacked the BJP government, alleging it adopts a negative political approach. He said the PDA represents a positive force that has unified the marginalised communities "unlike the BJP's divisive politics".
PDA is an acronym Yadav coined ahead of the last Lok Sabha polls for a combine of 'pichhde' (backwards), Dalits and 'alpsankhyak' (minorities).
"Their politics isn't constructive. It doesn't foster harmony because their thinking is negative," he said, arguing that the PDA stands for progressive politics and unity.
Yadav alleged that Chief Minister Adityanath branded PDA as a "production house of dangai (rioters) and apradhi (criminals)".
Yadav countered and alleged that Adityanath's opposition to PDA extended to all backward communities, Dalits, minorities, tribal people and "even to our women and mothers".
Switching to issues impacting farmers, the former UP chief minister slammed the government's handling of fertiliser supplies.
"Nobody is getting DAP (diammonium phosphate) because it also includes the same letters as PDA. This government has failed to provide seeds, fertiliser or even reliable electricity," he alleged.
Yadav added that electricity costs had increased under the current administration, yet the government had failed to explain these rising expenses.
Yadav said the recent loss in the Lok Sabha polls had unsettled the BJP and claimed that that the public was now rejecting the government's "negative politics". He said PDA embodied "positive politics", focused on uniting the disadvantaged and preserving the Constitution as a guiding principle.
Yadav also highlighted the Supreme Court's recent penalties against the state government as evidence of its mismanagement through demolitions using bulldozers.
"The Supreme Court recently imposed a Rs 25 lakh fine on the government. This fight to protect the Constitution is far from over and our aim is to remove the BJP from both Delhi and Lucknow," he stressed.
Kundarki in Moradabad is among the nine seats in UP where bypolls will be held on November 20. Counting of votes will be undertaken on November 23.
The Kundarki seat was held by the SP in the 2022 polls with Ziaur Rahman Burq as its candidate. Burq later ran for Lok Sabha this year and won the polls, necessitating a bypoll in the Kundarki assembly seat.
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