The war of words between the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh intensified on Sunday with the BSP asking Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to quit, if he was unable to face flak. The BSP’s retaliation was apparently in response to the Chief Minister’s comment on Saturday when he said that those having problems with the law and order situation in the State should stop coming here.
Though the Chief Minister did not mention BSP president Mayawati by name, the implied reference was obviously towards his predecessor, who in a press conference on Saturday had slammed the Samajwadi Party government over its failure to control the law and order situation. She had reiterated that President’s rule should be imposed in the State. Ms. Mayawati had also criticised the free laptop distribution scheme.
Calling Mr. Yadav’s comments “irresponsible,” the BSP General Secretary, Satish Chandra Mishra, told reporters on Sunday that the Chief Minister should resign if he could not face criticism, or he should improve the (law and order) situation. Justifying his party’s criticism of the government, Mr. Mishra said Ms. Mayawati would continue to target the State government till the law and order improved.
The BSP General Secretary also took umbrage at the Chief Minister’s comment on Saturday that the BSP regime erected stone structures and planted babool trees (which normally grow in the wilderness). Stating that the Chief Minister’s remarks on the monuments of the Dalit icons and those belonging to the Backward Classes were misleading, Mr. Mishra said on the contrary, the memorials were the “centres of faith” for the under-privileged sections of the society.
