BJP coining petty acronyms fearing defeat: Akhilesh on KASAB remark

Balrampur: Hitting out at Amit Shah for 'KASAB' remark, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today accused BJP leaders of coining petty acronyms for the fear of defeat in the the Assembly polls.

The Samajwadi Party leader also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for attacking him, saying he holds "such a high position but fights with me" and "indulges in such a petty talk which does not suit him".

Referring to the acronym 'KASAB' coined by Shah for Congress, SP and BSP yesterday, Akhilesh said, "BJP people have lost the battle on the ground and so their language has changed."

Taking a dig at the BJP chief, he said, "We used to study that it was 'KA se kabutar' but these people are teaching something else. This time round, people are going to set your 'kabutar' (pigeons) free."

Addressing another rally at Pechpedva, Akhilesh said, "They (BJP leaders) seem to be indulging in petty talk in view of their bad showing in the elections."

He wondered on what course BJP wants to take the polls and said the SP only wanted to take it on the path of development.

Shah had yesterday used the acronym 'KASAB', saying 'Ka' (in Hindi) stands for Congress, 'Sa' for Samajwadi Party and 'Ba' for BSP. He had said that till KASAB is laid to rest, UP will not have development.

Kasab was the Pakistani terrorist who was arrested during the 26/11 Mumbai attack and hanged in 2012.

Attacking Modi, Akhilesh said, "The Prime Minister is sitting on such a high post and indulging in such a petty talk which does not suit him."

Taking a dig at Modi, he said, "it seems he does not like staying in Delhi and is moving about all over UP...If he so desires, he can swap places with me."

He added, "Piqued are only those who are faced with defeat...Only those who are left behind talk about the past."

On Modi's remark that he is an "adopted son" of UP, the Chief Minister said, "PMji do not confuse our Uttar Pradesh... If you are the adopted son of UP, then we belong to this place...Who is going to adopt us".

He said if the Prime Minister wants a debate, he should not talk about other issues. "I say this openly that if he (PM) wants a debate with me on development issues I am ready for it...We ask what you have done for UP and we will also tell what all we have done," he said.

On the foreign trips of Prime Minister, he said, "The PM has toured so many countries, has he brought anything for the country he should tell? We in UP have tried to emulate the policing system in the US and developed UP-100...Now policemen cannot misbehave with the public," he said.

On the prime minister's allegations that police stations are run by SP people, Akhilesh said he does not know that it is also run through UP-100.

"We admit that there had been some shortcomings, but it will improve with UP-100 and the anomalies in the police working will be addressed," he said.

Attacking the BJP, he said when SP had decided to distribute laptops they called it "jhunjhuna" (toy) but later went on to include it in their manifesto.

"Why they allege that we discriminated in its distribution...You people can go out and ask whether meritorious students have not got it," he added.