'Double-engine sarkar's engines have failed', says SP chief Akhilesh Yadav

'Ads are the BJP's only achievement. Its development is not on the ground but on hoardings in Delhi and UP', said Yadav

Calling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) master manipulator of facts and figures, Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav claims the ruling dispensation in Uttar Pradesh (UP) has nothing to show for during its tenure. In conversation with Nitin Kumar, he says the Yogi Adityanath government failed at all fronts — from agriculture and infrastructure development to law and order, and people have been looking at the SP as an alternative. Edited excerpts:

You have been saying that the SP would form government after the Assembly election. What makes you so confident? 

The BJP cannot list a single achievement. Farmers’ income has not doubled; unemployed youth are on the streets; people are dying of hunger. In a recent report, the NITI Aayog said that UP has the highest number of poor people in the country. The ruling party knows that it has failed and that is why it is trying to divert people’s attention towards temples. People want to get rid of the present government. Their eyes are on the SP, which alone can defeat the BJP. 

You have claimed that there is a slowdown in every sector. How do you plan to revive these sectors?

At a time when every sector of the economy was closed and there were restrictions on the movement of people, only farmers were working in their field for us. Our experts claim that these farmers have played a significant role in handling the economy of the country during Covid. Our first and foremost duty would be to give priority to the agriculture sector and the communities associated with it. 

Also, there’s a dire need to invest in sectors like manufacturing, health care, infrastructure, education, etc, because if we don’t invest in these sectors now and only rely on imports, we will never be able to register strong growth in our country. SP will focus on bringing about these changes. 

UP’s unemployment rate was over 17 per cent in 2016. Today, it is 4-5 per cent. If the BJP government did not give jobs to the youth, how did the state record a lower joblessness rate than the country’s average in the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey?

The BJP has always stood at the forefront of manipulating facts and figures. It has changed all the standards and criteria, including GDP calculation, as it wants to show better GDP growth. The figures provided by the BJP government cannot be trusted.

Recently, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused both SP and Bahujan Samaj Party of politics of caste and religion… 

The Congress should, at least, clear its stand whether it wants to defeat the BJP this time or help it instead. If we compare the Congress’ policies, programmes, plans, and decisions, there’s no difference between the BJP and the Congress. They are two sides of the same coin.

Will Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s announcement of giving 40 per cent tickets to women will make any difference?

The Congress is not in competition. It is here just for campaigns. This time, it is possible that the Congress may draw a blank — zero seat — in UP.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya recently asked the Opposition if it supports the construction of a grand Krishna temple in Mathura…

The BJP remembers God in every crisis. But there’s a saying ‘bhooke pet na hoye bhajan, Gopala (a hungry belly has no ears). Today, people want employment and infrastructure, and farmers need double income. The prices of petrol and diesel are continuously increasing. The banking sector has failed. The BJP is filling the vault of the rich by picking pockets of the poor.

The BJP claims that during the SP rule, crime and riots were at their peak. However, according to the latest NCRB data, incidents of rioting and atrocities on Dalits have increased in UP. Your views…

These numbers could be even higher because the BJP is the champion in fudging data. Today, not only religious minorities like Christians and Muslims, but women are also facing atrocities. If a three-year-old girl is not safe in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency and people are being killed every day in the chief minister’s region (Gorakhpur), what can we expect from this government? Today, UP holds the top rank in custodial deaths, receiving national human rights commission notices, and fake encounters.  

The NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index shows that UP is the third poorest state, after Bihar and Jharkhand. Its 37.79 per cent population has been categorised as poor. What’s the reason for the dismal showing?

This so-called double-engine sarkar’s engines have failed in UP. If such a huge population is poor in UP, what scheme for their uplift did this government bring? 

What are the criteria for giving seats to your alliance partners — the Rashtriya Lok Dal, Mahan Dal, and Janvadi Party (Socialist)? 

Winnability is our only criterion. If a candidate has potential and can win a seat, it doesn’t matter whose candidate he/she is. 

Do you think the result of the 2024 general election will be decided in your state?

Yes. This is the biggest state in India. The results of the UP elections are not only significant for the state, but also for national politics. 

Don’t you think that the BJP will reap the benefits of constructing the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya? 

It won’t finish the work on the Ram Mandir so early. It wants to fight two or three elections by showcasing the Ram Mandir. 

You claim the BJP has not fulfilled its manifesto promises. While the BJP recently published a list of work it completed over the past 5 years…

Ads are the BJP’s only achievement. Its development is not on the ground but on hoardings in Delhi and UP. It is using China’s airport photographs as proof of its achievements. It shows the roads of one state and the dams of another in its ads.