BJP government against minorities, claims Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led government, alleging that it is against minorities. Speaking in Lucknow on January 9, Yadav stated, "This government is against minorities. Our God is PDA--Pichhade, Dalit, and Alpasankhayak (Backwards, Dalit, and Minority)."

Yadav has been consistently emphasizing the potential defeat of the BJP-led NDA in the upcoming general elections by what he terms as "PDA" - Pichde Dalit Alpasankhyak. "Removing the BJP from Uttar Pradesh means withdrawing the BJP from the country. Defeat 80, remove the BJP, and socialist people are working on this slogan. Only PDA will compete with NDA," asserted the SP chief.

Amidst disagreements within the INDIA bloc, Akhilesh Yadav affirmed his party's commitment to the alliance, stating, "As far as the alliance is concerned, the Samajwadi Party stands with full responsibility. We will know very soon who should fight from where. One thing is clear that not only the people of Uttar Pradesh but the entire country wants to remove the Bharatiya Janata Party."

Akhilesh Yadav criticized the BJP's pledge to double farmers' income by 2022, stating, "The Bharatiya Janata Party is promoting the idea that India will become developed. The BJP said that farmers' income would double, but it did not happen. SP has promised that the unemployed people of the country will get respectable employment."

Expressing confidence in the judiciary, Yadav welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on the Bilkis Bano case. "We do not trust the BJP, but we trust the court. We trust that all the people whom the government has falsely accused will get justice," he remarked.

The Supreme Court recently overturned the Gujarat government's order granting remission to 11 convicts involved in the gang rape and murder of Bilkis Bano during the 2002 Godhra riots. The court ruled that the Gujarat government lacked the authority to pass remission orders, assigning the responsibility to the Maharashtra government.