PM did nothing for water scarce Bundelkhand: SP-BSP

The SP and the BSP on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "doing nothing" for Uttar Pradesh's "thirsty" Bundelkhand region and claimed that people will bid goodbye to those chanting 'NaMo, NaMo'.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) are fighting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance in the state.

While SP chief Akhilesh Yadav dubbed Yogi Adityanath as "baba chief minister" and attacked Modi on the Bundelkhand issue in a rally in Jhansi, BSP supremo Mayawati in Jalaun said the BJP will be ousted from power and no drama is going to help them.

"Sometime ago the prime minister had come here and told a story about the Kutch region in Gujarat which faced water problem and said life there has changed...the reality (here) is that he has done nothing for thirsty Bundelkhand," Yadav said.

"Have you all forgotten about the promises made in the 2014 elections...I want to ask the people of Jhansi and nearby places as to what change has come in your lives in the past five years," he said.

Taking a dig at local MP Uma Bharti, who is not in poll fray this time, Yadav said, "Remember she headed the department related to water and she had the responsibility of cleaning the Ganga."

There is no water in Bundelkhand, "will have to go elsewhere for drowning...she (Bharti) did not have the courage to face the people of Jhansi," the SP chief said.

Referring to Chief Minister Adityanath, he said, "Our state has a baba chief minister...when the baba chief minister had come for the first time before you he had talked about the Bundelkhand Expressway and Metro station in Jhansi."

"Till yesterday, we had full faith in babas but don't know if it will be so now...you people tell me where is the metro station (in Jhansi), I also want to sit in the metro," he said adding that the "baba" chief minister knows nothing about roads and expressways.

The former chief minister said the then SP government had given its share meant for development works to Jhansi but the Centre has yet to fulfil its responsibility.

On the prime minister, Yadav said, "Earlier he (Modi) had come in our midst as a 'chaiwala' (teaseller) now he has come as 'chowkidar' (watchman)...how much are you going to believe him."

"When their tea turned bad, the people have to decide that the chowki of chowkidar needs to be snatched," he said.

The chief minister says in the state assembly that if law and order has to be improved then criminals need to be "knocked down...police does not understand who has to be knocked down...they are knocking down the people and people, when they get a chance, knock the police down," Yadav claimed

It was under the "thoko policy" that the MP and the MLA of Sant Kabirnagar started knocking each other down, he remarked, referring to the exchange of blows at a meeting between the two BJP lawmakers recently.

In her address, BSP supremo Mayawati said people are going to bid goodbye to those chanting 'NaMo, NaMo' and choose the ones who follow 'Jai Bhim' in this Lok Sabha election.

"This time you all are going to bid goodbye to the NaMo-NaMo people and choose Jai Bhim followers in the elections," she said

Modi is often referred to as 'NaMo' by his supporters.

Mayawati said the BJP will be removed from power at the Centre this time and no amount of "jumlebaazi (gimmicks)" or "natakbaazi (drama)" is going to help them.

"Their new 'natakbazi of chowkidari' is also not going to save them," the BSP supremo added.

She alleged that the BJP had made several promises before coming to power but all of those turned out to be hollow.

Targeting the Congress, Mayawati said although the party had been in power for most of the time since Independence, its wrong policies and works ultimately led to its ouster.

She accused the Congress of ignoring those belonging to the 'sarv samaj', especially the weaker sections, the poor and the unemployed, and alleged that the party neglected Bundelkhand and did nothing for poverty alleviation and employment generation in this region.

The Congress says it will remove poverty but had they really done anything about it, the party would not have gone out of power, the BSP chief said.

"Had they taken care of the 'sarv samaj', we would not have felt the need to form the BSP," she added.