Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday claimed that more than 26,000 schools have been closed down by the ruling dispensation in Uttar Pradesh and those at the receiving end are mostly the children from the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) community, a bloc that his party seeks to consolidate and mobilise ahead of 2027 Assembly elections.
Akhilesh also promised to reopen all the 26,000 schools if the people vote his party to power in the ensuing elections.
This comes days after Akhilesh Yadav promised to provide women Rs 40,000 every year if his party returns to power in Uttar Pradesh.
The SP supremo made the assertion about securing the rights of the PDA community during his address to the media at the party headquarters.
He stated that strengthening the education system and saving government schools would be his priority. Yadav also questioned Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s claim regarding the provision of 1 lakh jobs.
“If the SP comes to power, these communities (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) will be granted rights and a share of power proportionate to their population,” he said.
Raising the issue of the state’s dilapidated roads, he said that the roads in many places have turned into stretches of potholes. He alleged irregularities and scams within the Irrigation department and called for an investigation into the matter.
Targeting the government on the issue of law and order, SP president remarked that the Chief Minister has consistently claimed that mafia and criminals have fled Uttar Pradesh; the reality appears to be the opposite – gangs and criminals from other states are now coming to Uttar Pradesh to commit crimes.
Akhilesh also took aim at Om Prakash Rajbhar, president of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP).
He mentioned that the SP had organised a programme for the Arkvanshi community in Hardoi, noting that some of his former associates are no longer with him.
Yadav affirmed that the SP is committed to ensuring respect and participation for all communities, promising that members of the respective communities would be given due representation when the party comes to power.
The SP chief further alleged corruption and scams in the installation of towering statues of the BJP icons and its first president.
He claimed that once the SP government is formed in 2027, corruption and the politics of coercion will be crushed and all sections of society, including the PDA, will be granted rights and respect, commensurate with their population.
(IANS)
