EC should give funds for digital campaign, says Akhilesh Yadav
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that if the Election Commission decided about virtual campaign for political parties in UP Assembly elections 2022, then it should also make it a level playing field for all the parties. He said that he also appealed the EC to keep a close watch on the BJP leaders’ election speeches.
The chief election commissioner in his press conference in New Delhi, referring to the virtual campaign said: “For this we have already increased election expenditure limit from Rs 28 lakh to Rs 40 lakh”.
At a press conference in Lucknow hours before the Election Commission’s press conference in New Delhi, Akhilesh Yadav said: “The Election commission should give some funds to political parties so that they create an infrastructure because we cannot compete with the BJP infrastructure. We appeal that the EC should get the political parties some funds from the government so that in the democratic set-up, all political parties which do not have a strong infra up like the BJP’s should be able to compete.”
Akhilesh said this in response to a question from the newsperson asking if the SP was ready for a digital campaign and what he felt in case the EC decided about the virtual, digital, online campaign in the elections.
Laptop scheme to be repeated if SP comes to power: Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday announced that the party would repeat its free laptop scheme of the 2012 manifesto and the previous SP government if it returned to power in 2022.
“It will be the second promise after the first promise of free 300 units power to all domestic consumers and free power to farmers for irrigation. As the SP government did in its previous government, if the party forms the government in 2022, it will again give laptops to youth and students for higher studies. Earlier we had given lakhs of laptops which led many of the beneficiaries to start their own employment”. Akhilesh also announced that after coming to power, his government would create a fund to help students from weaker section families to study abroad.
The SP chief had earlier promised free 300 units of free power to domestic consumers and free electricity to farmers for irrigation, getting a caste census done in the state, Rs 25 lakh to the families of those farmers who died in the agitation, Rs 5 lakh to kin of cyclists killed in road accidents and Rs 5 lakh to kin of those who died in bull attacks.
Akhilesh also said that his party’s legal cell would file an FIR against a BJP IT cell member in Delhi who had posted a picture of his in France and had mentioned that the perfumer who was caught in Kanpur was standing along with him (Akhilesh) in the picture.
“BJP is making false propaganda against the SP. We will file FIR now and act against the person when we form the government. If anyone says anything against me, no action is taken but if anyone says anything against a BJP leader, then immediate action is taken,” he said. About the government’s ad campaign, Akhilesh reiterated: “A government does campaign of its works, but here the government is doing party’s campaign at government expense.
When the time comes, we will act against the government people and ad agencies involved in all this”.
Akhilesh also said that the SP and RLD alliance was firm. Seatsharing with alliance partners had been decided and would be announced soon.