SP to support parties fighting for secularism: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday claimed that the BJP was an “expert in fooling people” and said the SP would support the TMC and other parties who are fighting for secularism in the country.

He also said the Samajwadi Party would play a major role in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“We are ready to make sacrifices to strengthen the fight for secularism. We are ready to extend our support to all those who are fighting for secularism. And for that we are extending our support to didi (Mamata Banerjee)”, he said at the eighth state conference of the SP here, reports PTI.

He said the country required leaders who would lead in the fight for secularism. Asked whether the SP would form a joint front with the TMC, Yadav, who is to meet Banerjee later in the day, said he would make a courtesy call to her.

“The BJP is expert in telling lies. They tell lies in such a manner that people have started believing them. The BJP has lied to the people in the name of demonetisation, in the name of GST, in the name of digital India, in the name of Make in India,” he alleged.

The SP chief said the real strength lies in the hands of poor farmers and wondered what the BJP has done for them and the labourers. He claimed that the GST and demonetisation had taken away their jobs and affected the market.

Yadav said in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the SP would play a major role in fighting the saffron party. “We will stop the BJP in UP,” he said.

Asked about the differences between him and his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, he said, “We always have with us the blessings of the Netaji (Mulayam). And a father is just like God.”