Akhilesh Yadav slams Yogi Govt for alleged voter suppression in UP bye-elections
Yadav warned that a new and troubling form of democracy was emerging in Uttar Pradesh under the BJP rule.
Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused the Congress party of delaying caste census, saying the delay has widened the gap between India’s rich and poor. His statement comes in response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s x-ray remark, calling for a caste census in Madhya Pradesh soon after coming to power.
Speaking to reporters, Akhilesh Yadav said, “X-ray is an old technology. Now is the time for CT scan and MRI. Had they not delayed the caste census, the disease would not have spread. Now, 60 per cent of India wealth is being controlled by just five per cent people.”
The SP boss said that the reason Congress party is so aggressively pitching for caste census now is that their traditional vote bank is not with them anymore.
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“Congress is the party which did not conduct caste census after independence… When all the parties in the Lok Sabha were demanding a caste census, they did not conduct a caste census. Why do they want to do so today? Because they know that their traditional vote bank is not with them,” he said.
This is not the first time Akhilesh has attacked his INDIA bloc ally over the issue of caste census. Earlier last month, he accused the Congress of betraying the Samajwadi Party in Madhya Pradesh and made the similar statement on Rahul Gandhi’s caste-based census demand.
The latest statement from the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister has widened the already visible cracks in opposition’s INDIA alliance.
At least 28 Opposition parties, including Yadav’s SP and Rahul Gandhi’s Congress, has formed an alliance block named Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to take on the mighty BJP-led NDA in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
While they have vowed to fight the general elections together “as much as possible”, the state elections have brought them at loggerheads with each other.
Earlier this month, another INDIA alliance partner, JDU’s Nitish Kumar had accused the Congress of delaying the INDIA bloc’s progress, saying the party is more interested in state polls.
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