Samajwadi Party (SP) President and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday attacked the Centre and state government on a range of issues, including pollution and SIR exercise. His comments as he visited Bisrakh village in Greater Noida for an event organised by the SP’s national Vice President and youth wing leader to distribute awards to the winners of the late Jagat Singh Bhati Rural Tournament.
Expressing deep concern over rising air pollution in the NCR and western UP, Akhilesh Yadav pointed to dust-covered tree leaves and remarked that the deteriorating environment reflected worsening lung health among people. "Neither the Central government nor the UP government has ever prioritised the environment.
Waste from western UP is reaching Kannauj and ultimately flowing into the Ganga. The government has cleaned only the budget in the name of cleaning the river, not the Ganga itself," he said. Accusing the government of implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) through the back door under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Akhilesh Yadav claimed that five crore people in UP would be forced to fill out forms again while Booth Level Officers were working without proper training.
"This process is meant to remove votes, not add them. This is not SIR, this is NRC," he said. He also questioned the Election Commission’s mapping app, suggesting that the company developing it should be investigated to determine whether it was connected to firms that donated to the BJP through electoral bonds.
Akhilesh Yadav also asserted that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s exit was "certain", adding that "many BJP leaders also want to remove him". He accused the government of bias in law and order matters, stating that even cases related to the Akhlaq lynching incident were being withdrawn.
The SP leader said that work on the Jewar Airport remained incomplete and asserted that the final NOC for the project was granted during the SP government’s tenure. Taking a swipe at the crackdown on the codeine cough syrup mafia, he said: "In this case, the bulldozer driver himself abandoned the bulldozer and ran away because people from his own community were involved."
Raising questions once again about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Akhilesh Yadav said that developed countries such as the US, Japan and Germany still use ballot papers. "This would be the biggest electoral reform, and India should adopt it too," he said.
Commenting on the government’s recent claims about tracing illegal immigrants and Rohingya settlers, he said that finding them after 11 years reflected administrative failure. He also mocked the BJP’s proposed Film City project, saying the ruling party had "so many actor-ministers that they don’t even need a film city".