Akhilesh issues appeal instead of manifesto

LUCKNOW: Instead of releasing a manifesto for the civic polls, Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav has issued an appeal to voters.

In the appeal, he has highlighted “all the public interest and development works” that his government did for the state and its urban areas.

While Akhilesh issued the appeal, chief minister Yogi Adiyanath has released an elaborate BJP manifesto for the civic polls

“Now, the voters have to decide if they want to take forward the spirit of the Samajwadi Party’s work or let the anti-development mindset of the BJP flourish,” Akhilesh Yadav said in his appeal.

All Samajwadi Party candidates and campaigners will distribute pamphlets containing the appeal to voters during the ongoing campaign for the civic polls.

The pamphlets will have Akhilesh’s picture and the entire text of the appeal.

In the appeal, Akhilesh says: “The Samajwadi Party has a credible record, while the BJP

has not launched even a single public interest project. The BJP does nothing other than spreading hatred and dividing people.”

“Be it Kanpur, Varanasi, Vrindavan, Mathura, Ayodhya, Allahabad, Agra or Ghaziabad, the Samajwadi Party (SP) implemented several big-ticket projects in these cities. The SP government built the Janeshwar Misra Park spread over 375 acres, Jaiprakash Narain International Centre and Gomti Riverfront in Lucknow. To make road travel between Delhi and Lucknow smooth, it built a 302-kilometre Agra-Lucknow Expressway. (It gave) Metro rail to Lucknow.”

Akhilesh has also highlighted Lucknow works: beautification and conservation work of Imambara, Ghantaghar, Picture Gallery, Tile Wali Masjid, new Vidhan Sabha secretariat (Lok Bhavan), expansion of Kukrail forest, modern bus stations at Kaiserbagh and Alambagh, widening of roads, cement approach roads, cycle tracks, six railway overbridges and IT hub.

He also says his government gave free laptops to students, introduced 108 and 102 ambulances, 1090 Woman Power Line, and several pro-farmer schemes.

“Our government did development work for all. It never worked with any ill will towards any community and respected all,” he said.

Contrasting his government’s work with the BJP’s achievements, he said: “PM Modi had promised loan waiver (for farmers) and voters were influenced. But on coming to power in UP, the BJP’s loan waiver turned out to be a betrayal.”