JOIN USMaya, Akhilesh in war of words
Although the next Parliamentary elections are still a good eight-nine months away, arch rivals Samajwadi Party (SP) and BSP have already been locked in a verbal duel charging up the political scene in Uttar Pradesh.
BSP supremo Mayawati and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav traded charges on Saturday on a number of issues concerning the state.
Mayawati said the law and order situation in the state had deteriorated so much so that the women did not dare to come out of their homes even during the day time and referred to the incidents of rapes and sexual assaults.
In an apparent retort to the Mayawati later, Akhilesh advised her not to visit the state if she thought it was so.
“I can not stop her from coming to UP but she should not come here if she thinks the women are not safe here,” the chief minister shot back when queried in this regard.
The BSP supremo also sought to ridicule the free laptop distribution scheme and said that the same was distributed every two or three months only in a bid to divert the attention of the people from the failures of the government, especially on the law and order front.
She also said it was also a wastage of money. “Funds spent on organizing the functions to distribute the laptops exceed the funds spent on procuring the machines,” she said.
Akhilesh’s retort was quick here also. “Those, who had spent crores on erecting statues glorifying themselves have no right to question our laptop scheme,” he said.
“We are spending money on the development of the state. We are setting up medical colleges. Laptops will benefit the students greatly,” Akhilesh said while rejecting Mayawati’s charges.