Lucknow, Aug 5 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday launched a fierce attack on the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, accusing it of being fundamentally against education and democratic rights.
Addressing the media at the Janeshwar Mishra Park here, Yadav criticised the state government’s recent actions targeting the SP’s ‘PDA Pathshala’ campaign, where volunteers have been conducting informal classes in areas where primary schools were recently “shut or merged”.
Calling the BJP “the biggest mafia for being against education,” Yadav said even the British never filed FIRs for running educational initiatives.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also condemned the filing of police cases against PDA Pathshala volunteers and asserted that such classes would continue until the government reopens the shut schools and appoints teachers and principals.
“This is not going to stop because of police threats,” Yadav said. He demanded the complete rollback of the school merger plan and the immediate reopening of closed primary schools.
Yadav pointed out that when the Samajwadi Party was in power, it set up new schools and launched innovative education models, including cultural schools in the state capital. He accused the BJP of failing to support or sustain the initiative.
Citing the recent roof collapse incident at a school in the chief minister’s home district that left students injured, Yadav said the “poor” condition of schools highlights the government’s neglect.
The SP leader also targeted the state’s Panchayati Raj Department for allegedly issuing a controversial letter that selectively focused on specific castes and communities.
He called it unconstitutional and said the party would take the matter to court.
“If any illegality is committed, action must be taken, but targeting people based on caste or religion is against the Constitution,” he added, urging the judiciary to take suo motu notice.
The directive referred to by Yadav has already been withdrawn, and the joint director concerned of the department who issued it has been suspended with immediate effect from Monday.
Meanwhile, Yadav claimed the BJP has no real achievements to show the public, and it instead resorts to “false cases and arrests.” He alleged that the BJP was attempting to appropriate the SP’s legacy by putting up its own signboards at the entrance of the Janeshwar Mishra Park — a public space developed under the previous SP government — and said the current administration had allowed the park to fall into neglect.
On the recent political developments, Yadav reiterated his support for the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) alliance, stating that attempts to suppress it would only strengthen its resolve.
He also accused the BJP of trying to divert attention from real issues such as inflation, unemployment, corruption, and flood devastation.
Yadav alleged that instead of providing relief, the government was distributing stale food to flood victims in Prayagraj, while many areas lacked clean water, toilets, and medical facilities.
“Rs 20,000 crore has been spent, but homes remain submerged,” he said, pointing to similar situations in Varanasi and Gorakhpur, both cities that received heavy “Smart City funding”.
He accused the BJP leaders of illegally grabbing land in cities like Lucknow, Ayodhya, and Varanasi, including wetlands and ponds, and challenged the media to examine land registry records to expose the extent of the encroachments.
Yadav also raised concerns about the alleged tampering with voter rolls under the pretext of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign in poll-bound Bihar.
He said the Samajwadi Party had submitted affidavits to the Election Commission about 18,000 missing voters who had voted in 2019 but found their names deleted in 2022. Despite this, he said, no explanation or action had been taken by the commission.
Calling the BJP’s claims about foreign investments and economic growth hollow, Yadav said the ruling party only pays lip service to “swadeshi” values while embracing foreign interests in practice.
“They don’t even understand what the economy is,” he said, criticising the state and central governments for failing to address the growing economic distress in the country. PTI KIS RHL
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