UP Elections 2017: With Eid, Holi Reference, PM Narendra Modi Accuses Akhilesh Yadav Of 'Discrimination'

Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh: Prime Minster Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, accusing his Samajwadi Party government of politics of religion and caste discrimination. He was campaigning in Fatehpur, as UP voted in other parts of the state in the third of seven phases of the assembly elections.

"In Uttar Pradesh, everyone feels that they are being discriminated and they are being denied their rights," the Prime Minister said at an election rally. "If a village has a graveyard it should also have a cremation ground. If there's electricity on Ramzan, it should also be there on Diwali. There must be bijli (power) both on Eid and Holi... There should be no discrimination," he said, accusing the Samajwadi Party of minority appeasement.

In Akhilesh Yadav's tenure, PM Modi said, "The Dalits complain that their share is given to the Other Backward Classes, who in turn point a finger towards Muslims and Yadavs, while Yadavs say that only the family people get the benefits."

The Prime Minister pitched schemes of the centre which, he said, benefit everyone irrespective of caste or religion and accused the state government of corruption. No one can get jobs without recommendations or the bribe, he said, urging people to elect the BJP for a change.

The BJP, which had swept Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 General Elections winning 71 of its 80 seats, is hoping to follow that up with as big a win in these assembly elections, it has not been in power in the state for the last 15 years. Instead of fielding a candidate for the Chief Minister's post, it has built its campaign around PM Modi's appeal and his development mantra.

Sixty-nine assembly constituencies of Uttar Pradesh spread across 12 districts voted today in the third phase of the seven-phase assembly elections seen by many as a precursor to the 2019 national polls. Fatehpur will vote on February 23 in the fourth phase.