"1st Phase Polling Will Be Eye-Opener For UP Government": Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday attacked the BJP government, saying the "eyes and ears of the government will open in the first phase itself", as farmers and youngsters have "made up their mind" to defeat the BJP.

It was Akhilesh Yadav's first meeting in Karhal after he filed his nomination papers from the assembly seat in the Mainpuri district. Karhal goes to the polls in the third phase on February 20.

"The way the wind is blowing and seeing the atmosphere (of elections), it seems the eyes and ears of the (BJP) government will open in the first phase itself,” said the former UP Chief Minister.

“The government's eyes and ears, which have been staying closed till now, will open up in the first phase itself as the farmers and youngsters have made up their mind to defeat the BJP," Mr Yadav asserted in the meeting.

Speaking in Agra earlier, he alleged that people are being threatened over the phone against voting for his party after it has emerged as a powerful contender in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

He also asked people to record such threatening calls so that based on them, FIRs could be lodged after his government comes to power.

"Since the SP has emerged as a powerful contender in the elections, people are being threatened over the phone. If anyone gets such a call, record it. I want to say that the recordings will be considered as (the basis of) FIRs," Mr Yadav said without taking any names.

Mr Yadav made the allegations while addressing workers' meet in the Bah assembly constituency of Agra. He said the assembly polls in the state are for the future of Uttar Pradesh and to save the country's Constitution.

"This election is for the future of the UP and to save the Constitution. The BJP can do anything and nobody knows till they do it. Did anyone know demonetisation was going to be announced?" he asked as proof of his allegation.

Mr Yadav also mocked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who in a recent statement had said he would "cool down" after March 10, the day for the announcement of elections result, those heightening passions.

"The Chief Minister is talking about cooling down. But we will only talk about announcing recruitments in the police for youngsters of the state," Mr Yadav said.

The SP chief reiterated that his party will give 300 units of electricity free to domestic consumers and also give old pension to the government employees.

"The electricity bill gives an electric shock (to consumers). The BJP government has not set up a single power plant and we are forced to pay exorbitant rates of electricity. The 'transformer' of BJP will be 'fused' by the anger of voters," Yadav said, adding that the SP will give 300 units of free electricity to people after coming to power.

According to a former senior electricity official of UP, all transformers are connected to the common secondary circuit through secondary fuses. The purpose of these fuses is to disconnect a faulty transformer from the secondary circuit.

He added that the fuse is used to protect electrical appliances when the system gets overloaded.

"The chief minister promised to distribute laptops and tablets but had anyone got anything? Farmers were forced to fence their farms and the money which is being released for the rehabilitation of stray cows is not reaching people,” Mr Yadav said.

"This Chief Minister can only change the name and colour so we should also bring some change," he added.

The SP chief also said, "We will distribute laptops to youth after coming to power. The Samajwadi Party will provide 22 lakh jobs to youths in the IT sector. We have also decided to reinstate the old pension of the government employees." The former UP CM praised farmers saying that they continued to work in fields and saved our economy when everything was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recalling the helpline Dial-100, which was launched in his tenure, the SP chief said, "The police lacked funds and used to take money from the victims to catch the accused. We sent police officers to New York to study the functioning of police there and launched Dial 100. But the (current) chief minister changed Dial 100 to 112."

Talking about the 'Dial 100' emergency service, he said, "We started 'Dial 100' to protect people against any harassment across the state. The chief minister has not been able to change the tyres of the vehicles or the colour of the Dial 100 vehicles. Chief Minister has only changed the name from Dial 100 to 112."

Hitting out at the state government for alleged mismanagement during the second wave of Covid in April-May last year, Akhilesh said, "When COVID-19 came, all of us wore masks but the government failed to do anything. In those troubled times, the ambulances bought by the SP government were used to carry patients to hospitals. The BJP couldn't even provide the essential injections required for Covid patients." Yadav who is currently the MP from Azamgarh said that he would never forget the people of Azamgarh because they have elected him and Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav).

Attacking the BJP, he said, "The BJP people speak lies that development has only been done in Mainpuri. I want to assure you that we will make the development of Etawah and Karhal an example of the development in the state."

Mr Yadav also paid tribute to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar following her death on Sunday.

"The death of Lata Mangeshkar is a very sad news. There is no singer in the world who has sung over 3000 songs. The Samajwadi Party will do something in her name in the state after coming to power," he said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)