The Samajwadi Party on Saturday formally kicked off its election campaign for the Uttar Pradesh polls, with party president Mulayam Singh Yadav making a scathing attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre and the state. Inaugurating a two-day state convention of the party in Bareilly, Yadav charged the ruling BJP governments with having 'failed' on all fronts and with using 'unethical means' to retain power.
''The government has made a record of sorts in failures with not a single section benefiting in the present regime,'' the former defence minister said, narrating the 'failures' of the government at the Centre and in UP. Blaming the Centre for adopting an 'apathetic attitude' towards the cause of the agriculture sector, weavers and traders, he demanded an immediate sanction of Rs 15,000 crore for UP to help in the financial revival of its farmers. ''It is unfortunate that the government has done nothing for the agriculture sector even as hundreds of farmers have committed suicides in several parts of the country,'' he said.
Criticising POTO, the former UP chief minister alleged that the ordinance had been promulgated under pressure from the United States and Israel without taking the people in confidence.
Also, he said that it aimed at falsely implicating opposition workers during the UP elections, urging people to oppose it without any fear.
''Such a law is always made by weak and incapable governments, especially when a competent law is already there to deal with terrorism,'' he added.
Bureau Report