ON MUNNAWAR RANA

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and likened it with the Covid pandemic.

“In 2022, all pandemics will go away,” said Akhilesh, adding that voters will teach BJP a lesson in both – Tuesday’s by-polls on seven seats and the UP assembly polls in 2022.

The SP chief was speaking at a press conference where he announced the entry of former Congress MP from Unnao Annu Tandon and 150 of her supporters into the SP.

Tandon praised Akhilesh, saying he has all the traits that a leader should have today. “Making him the next chief minister is the only goal,” she said.

“The kind and amount of works he did I think it’s impossible to do in a term. He is a progressive, visionary, young, educated leader -- the kind that UP needs,” she said.

Akhilesh said people wanted to bring in a good government instead of such a government that doesn’t know what it is doing. Without taking chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s name, Akhilesh said: “Imagine what kind of change the state needs when someone who has divine powers says ‘Thok do’ (kill in encounter). Imagine the kind of words he uses, the way he selects words.”

Taking about the by-polls, Akhilesh said the BJP was misusing power to influence and intimidate voters. The entire government machinery is busy to make BJP win, he said.

He further said the BJP has mishandled the pandemic. Now, it is learnt that the pandemic would spread more. And then they (BJP government) might declare lockdown without batting an eyelid. What would happen to poor people, he wondered.

When asked about Lucknow police filing a case against poet Munnawar Rana, Akhilesh said: “They did it with Azam Khan, now Munnawar Rana. A government can find something or the other illegal with anyone. Don’t we know what the government wants? It should also remember that governments come and go.”