Cabinet expansion talks a ploy to divert attention: Akhilesh
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said the state government had triggered discussions about the cabinet expansion to divert public attention from what he termed “its plummeted credibility”.
Speculations over the possible expansion of the UP cabinet began after the recent highlevel meeting of the BJP’s top brass, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New Delhi.
The Delhi meeting triggered discussions in the political circles about changes in the state party unit and also in the government ahead of the next year’s UP assembly polls.
Akhilesh said it was an irony that BJP ministers were busy “abusing” the Samajwadi Party leaders and cadre while claiming that the latter were engaged in selflessly serving people in these times of distress.
Sharpening his attack, Akhilesh said in a statement, “It would be better if the BJP government creates a dedicated ministry for “gali galauj” (hurling abuses) and appoints a minister to abuse (the opposition). Although ill will against the opposition is uncalled for in a democracy, it looks like that’s what is BJP’s culture. But such a political exercise too won’t give any favourable results to the BJP government.” He said people were distressed over the deplorable condition of health services and they were also angry and agitated over the “BJP government’s failure” on all fronts.
“Both the BJP and the RSS have worry lines on their faces. And under such circumstances, the BJP government has triggered a public discussion over the expansion of the state cabinet to divert public attention from deaths and troubles due to Covid and black fungus, price rise and other public issues,” he added.
The former chief minister alleged that the BJP government was responsible for the tragedy that had emerged out of the pandemic because in the last four years the government undid all the good work that the previous SP government did in the medical and health sector.
The government did not take any interest in starting and running hospitals and trauma centres that the SP government established, he further alleged.
“All the hospitals in all the districts that the chief minister toured recently were built by the Samajwadi Party government and the BJP government took no lessons from the bitter experience of pandemic’s first wave”, Akhilesh said.