Adityanath’s ‘Padyatra’ Signals Preparation for Life in Opposition: Akhilesh

Luckily: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s ‘padyatra’ against the defeat of a constitutional amendment bill to implement reservations for women in legislatures was a “practice” for the BJP to be in the Opposition.

Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said, “This ‘padyatra’ was a practice. It shows that when they sit in Opposition, they will have to agitate in this way. This is the first government to practice how to act as the Opposition while in power.”

Earlier in the day, the ‘Jan Aakrosh Mahila Padyatra’ started at Adityanath’s official residence on Kalidas Marg and culminated in the UP Assembly.

He harshly criticized the BJP and said that never before had a governing body fought so hard for a law passed by it. “Perhaps no government in history has fought for its own law as much as this government. This is an unprecedented situation,” he said.

Reflecting his party’s political blueprint, the SP chief referred to the “PDA” (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) group and claimed that it would decisively challenge the BJP in the upcoming elections.

“For the first time in history, a social bloc will defeat them (BJP)… This bloc is the PDA, that is, the PDA family. People united by common pain and problems will come together as one and defeat the BJP,” he said.

Yadav said that the alliance of backward classes, Dalits and minorities will work towards formation of a government based on social justice.

“We are moving towards forming a PDA government to establish a state based on social justice in the coming period,” he added.

Referring to the defeat of the government’s Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which envisaged the implementation of women’s quota and increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, Yadav called it a “historic democratic victory” and thanked the voters and leaders of the opposition alliance.

“We express our gratitude to the people and all the leaders of the INDIA alliance who supported this effort. This is not only a democratic victory but also a defeat of the BJP,” he said.

Reiterating his party’s stand on reservation for women, Yadav said, “Samajwadis have always supported reservation for women inside and outside the Assembly. If anyone is trying to stall reservation, it is the BJP. We will not let their intentions succeed.”

He also accused the ruling party of avoiding caste census and claimed that the party was afraid of rights demands and reservations that might follow.

“Those who do not want to be counted know that when the census is done, people will want caste counting. When caste counting is done, people will want their rights and reservations,” he said.

He also claimed that those who swore to uphold the Constitution were taking to the streets with “ulterior motives.”

“People who took the constitutional oath are walking on the streets. The public saw their conspiracy and it was exposed,” he said.

Drawing a comparison with Hitler’s propaganda machine, Yadav claimed that the BJP was trying to “mislead” people.

“Historians say that during Hitler’s time, there was a minister responsible for propaganda. However, not only the government but also many people in constitutional positions were involved. But the people understood the truth,” he said.

Expressing his confidence in the opposition’s expectations, he said, “In the coming time, we will not only remove the BJP, but also ensure its complete removal.”

He also accused the state government of “failing” to ensure the safety of women.

“If we look at the data, girls are the most unsafe in Uttar Pradesh and incidents continue to happen while the government is trying to hide them. 1090 service has been devastated, even ambulance services have been destroyed,” he alleged.