The law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh is "becoming worse", said Akhilesh Yadav. (File)
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday gave a new slogan "80 harao, BJP hatao" (defeat 80, remove BJP), implying that if the saffron party has to be removed in 2024, it has to be defeated in all Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
He also targeted the Yogi Adityanath government, saying the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh is "becoming worse".
"Police is registering an FIR against the ruling MP...Policemen were involved in robbing of silver...Stolen goods are being recovered from police station...What a double-engine government of the BJP!," Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi and used the hashtag "#Assi_Harao_BJP_Hatao".
He was apparently referring to the registration of an FIR against BJP Kannauj MP Subrat Pathak for allegedly assaulting police personnel and the recovery of sliver at a policeman's house.
Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats. The SP had only won five in 2019 and lost two of them -- Rampur and Azamgarh -- to the BJP in the by-elections.
In a statement issued here, Akhilesh Yadav said, "In the BJP government, 'UP ease of doing' means murder, rape, loot and corruption. Were MoUs for the supply and manufacturing of country-made pistols signed in the Investor Summit? Is training for crime being provided under skill development?" "Instead of providing security and facilities to traders, there is freedom for their extortion and ransom," he added.
The SP chief also alleged that corruption flourished under the BJP rule in Uttar Pradesh.
"Why is the chief minister not seeing what is happening right under his nose? Is there any involvement at a higher level? Why is the chief minister not remembering the claim of zero tolerance for crime and corruption?," he asked.
Reacting to Akhilesj Yadav's statement that the SP will win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 general elections, BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav said, "Leave alone the claims of winning 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, just win only one Lok Sabha seat, Varanasi. If your party does this, I will retire from politics and will also resign from the Rajya Sabha membership."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)