Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Uttar Pradesh government, accusing the BJP of creating fear among people and targeting traders in the name of development.
He alleged that the government was using intimidation to silence citizens and curb business activity.
Yadav said people were unable to run their businesses freely under the present government.
According to him, the BJP’s policy was to instil fear so that people hesitate to speak. He added that every citizen has the right to express themselves.
He claimed the government had now set its sights on Dalmandi. “It takes years to build a shop but they want to bring it down in a moment. This is a narrow mindset. They are misleading people in the name of road widening. Their thinking is negative and they are snatching away livelihoods,” he said. Yadav alleged that pressure was being created through officials.
The SP chief said traders from Dalmandi and the MP from Dauli had approached him because the government’s actions had put their businesses at risk. He called the exercise a political demolition and said the BJP was targeting the area because it was unable to win elections there.
Yadav said the BJP had once promised to turn Varanasi into Kyoto, but instead the administration was busy troubling people. “For their political projects they are using divide-and-rule,” he said. He added that the government should visit areas like Dalmandi and understand traders’ issues.