Akhilesh Yadav said BJP leadership knows the "tricks" of misleading people (File)
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday took a jibe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for praising Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying it appears that he apparently forgot the "devastation" during the second wave of COVID-19 and women harassment in the state.
"I don't understand for what the Prime Minister or the Home Minister praises the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. During the period of coronavirus infection, there were a series of deaths because of which there was no place to even burn the dead bodies in crematoriums.
"There was an acute shortage of beds, medicine and treatment. Injections and life-saving medicines were available only in black market. Due to the lack of oxygen, people lost lives and there was outcry all over," the SP chief said in a statement.
There was "devastation" during the second wave of COVID-19, he added.
Mr Yadav wondered whether the Home Minister, while "distributing the letter of appreciation" to the chief minister, forgot that there has been a "flood of incidents" of rape against women and girls under the BJP rule.
"Robbery, kidnapping, murder have become everyday incidents and the task of deciding the life and death of a person today rests with criminals who are getting protection from powerful people. There is an atmosphere of hatred in the society and people are suffering," he said.
Mr Yadav said the BJP leadership knows the "tricks" of misleading people by making tall promises and is adept at creating confusion by putting its stamp on the works of the Samajwadi Party.
Referring to Mr Shah, who visited Lucknow and Mirzapur on Sunday, he said, "Now the Union Home Minister has also assumed the form of a prophet. In a democracy, the people form the government by voting, but the Union Home Minister has predicted that the opposition should be ready for a crushing defeat in 2022 without even entering the election fray. This is what is called a dictatorial mentality."
He claimed that the people have decided that in 2022, they are going to form the Samajwadi Party government by teaching a lesson to those who flout their promises.
Mr Shah, during his visit to UP, had targeted the opposition parties, especially the SP for the law and order situation during its government and had praised Chief Minister Adityanath.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)