Akhilesh Yadav says Lord Ram belongs to Samajwadi party; here's what he said

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AYODHYA: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said Lord Ram belongs to Samajwadi Party and he would soon visit Ayodhya with his family members to worship the deity.

The Samajwadi Party chief laid his party's claim over Lord Ram while taking a brief break here in Ayodhya on his way back to Lucknow from Azamgarh. "Lord Rama belongs to the Samajwadi Party. We are Ram Bhakts and Krishna Bhakts," Yadav told reporters during his brief interaction with them here on Monday evening.

Akhilesh Yadav also said he would come soon to Ayodhya along with his family members to offer their prayers to Lord Ram. He, however, did not specify when he plans to visit Ayodhya to offer prayers to the deity. While talking to reporters, Yadav also listed various works done by him during his government's term for the development of the temple town.

Among the various works done by him as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yadav listed the plantation of 'Parijaat trees' along the Prikrama Marg, a ring road around Ayodhya on which devotees take rounds after Diwali festival, assuming their act akin to taking the round of Ram Janmabhoomi temple site itself.

Yadav had got planted various species of trees along this road with religious significance. "I had also arranged lights on the banks of river Saryu and sound system at the 'Bhajan Sthal' for the worship of Lord Rama," he said.

On his future electoral plans, Yadav said his party will no longer go in for pre-poll alliances with bigger parties as he did not have a good experience of such tie-ups. "I will have pre-poll alliances only with smaller parties," he said while exuding confidence that his party would win at least 351 out of 403 seats in the next Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2022 and form the government in the state.

Yadav said he would give one seat to his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav. On the three central farmers laws, against which farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been camping at different border points of the national capital for nearly a fortnight now, Yadav said the laws are death warrants for the farmers. He said the government must give statutory guarantee to farmers to continue with the system of minimum support price for them and to double their income.

He said the form in which the three laws have been enacted by the Centre would benefit corporate houses only.