Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his Samajwadi Party tied up with the Congress to contest the assembly elections.
The Samajwadi Party leader also announced a series of sops while launching his party manifesto here.
After promising “achche din” (good days), Modi had ended up giving only a Swatch Bharat campaign and organising yoga, the Samajwadi Party leader said mockingly.
“Where are the ‘achche din’? Where is the promised ‘vikas’ development they promised?” he asked, referring to Modi’s famous phrases of the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign.
“At times they distributed brooms, sometimes they organised yoga.”
Akhilesh Yadav, who has ousted his father and party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav as the party President, said his Samajwadi Party government had achieved a lot during the five years it was in power.
Mulayam Singh did not attend the event.
He promised to give away free smartphones and pressure cookers, provide fare concession in public transport for women, double Samajwadi Pension to Rs1,000, give midday meals to labourers and announced three metro projects in Agra, Varanasi and Kanpur.
The smartphone will be distributed to people over 18 years with an annual income of less than Rs200,000 and provided they are not Grade I government employees.
“Those who build statues in Noida and Lucknow can only be seen on television,” he said, referring to BSP supremo Mayawati.
“To combat malnourishment, especially in Bundelkhand region, our government will provide one kg of free ghee and milk powder to the primary school students.
“All the five years we ruled (Uttar Pradesh), we did not deviate from our socialist ideology,” he added to thunderous applause.
