Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that Uttar Pradesh is set to vote out the BJP government. During the HT Leadership Summit, he claimed, "Rule and reality will change in UP." He criticised the state's bulldozer policy and argued that crime against women and minorities has increased.
The electorate in Uttar Pradesh is set to vote out the BJP government and usher in a new political reality in the upcoming assembly elections, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday.
Alluding to the summit's theme of "New Rules. New Realties", Akhilesh, during a conversation with HT's National Political Editor Sunetra Choudhury, said: "Rule and reality will change in UP." Uttar Pradesh is slated for polls early next year, alongside Punjab, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand. Track LIVE updates from Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here.
The SP chief said the law-and-order situation had deteriorated in the state, rejecting the notion that frequent police encounters were a sign of swift justice.
"If law and order is better, what is the proof of that? The government says it is 'tough on crime', but data shows crime against Dalits, women and minorities has increased," he said.
Akhilesh also criticised the Uttar Pradesh government's "bulldozer policy", alleging that the homes of marginalised sections were disproportionately targeted.
"You talk about the bulldozer as a symbol of law and order. But law and order cannot be maintained through bulldozers. Whose houses have you demolished? Whose homes have you destroyed? Those who were poor and vulnerable, those who had nowhere else to go. There are records of these actions," he said.
Asked about the Congress's seat-sharing demands for the upcoming assembly elections, Yadav said the party had sought "one more than 180 seats."