Federal front can become a reality, Congress should help: Akhilesh Yadav

Yadav at his Lucknow office and spoke about the prospects of this gathbandhan and whether the Congress could be a part of it in the future

You have been described as the initiator and the pivot of the UP gathbandhan. What were your compulsions in putting the coalition together?

Trust me, there were no compulsions. I am fighting to keep democracy. For the past five years, democratic institutions have been attacked. Of course, earlier the Congress governments did it, and now the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  The BJP showed many dreams in the name of acche din (good days) but these have not been realised. Our economic growth has been hit, the country has regressed.  If I fight for growth, the BJP brands me as a backward