Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday alleged that it the Bharatiya Janata Party slogan of ‘400 paar’ or ‘beyond 400’ indicates an intent to changing the Constitution. Addressing an election rally in Moradabad, Mr. Yadav accused the ruling party for neglecting every section of the electorate, and said that the BJP was working hard to destroy the brotherhood of India.
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“From the statements of the BJP [leaders], it seems that they are raising this slogan because they want to change the Constitution which was given to us by Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar,” Mr. Yadav said.
“If they [the BJP] come to power again, they may bring in such laws which would take away the rights of our farmers. They have not only cheated the farmers but also our youth, women, government employees, and other sections of society,” the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister alleged.
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Mr. Yadav targeted the BJP for thrusting the short service scheme, Agniveer, onto the armed forces which adversely impacted the aspirations of many youngsters desirous of joining the army.
“A system like Agniveer was implemented by this BJP government. The Agniveer programme would employ a young man for four years; what will a young soldier do after four years? The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance bloc assures all the voters that when we form the government a system like Agniveer will not be implemented,” he said.
In Moradabad, the SP candidate Ruchi Veera faces a three cornered contest with the BJP’s Kunwar Sarvesh Singh and the Bahujan Samaj Party’s Irfan Saifi. For the first time the SP filed a Hindu candidate from Moradabad, a constituency with roughly 48% Muslim electorate.
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The SP president also addressed a rally in Nagina supporting the party nominee Manoj Kumar. In his Nagina rally, Mr. Yadav highlighted the works done by the SP government between 2012 and 2017 while accusing the BJP of stalling development initiatives.
“We build schools, hospitals, start ambulance services, and give unemployment allowance. The Prime Minister on the other hand seeks only to compare the number of graveyards in every village with the number of crematoriums. This reflects the difference in our vision,” the SP president said.
In Nagina, Chandrashekhar Azad, the president of Azad Samaj Party, is locked in a four-way battle with the BSP’s Surendra Pal, the BJP’s Om Kumar, and the SP’s Manoj Kumar. The SP president refrained from taking direct shots on the Dalit leader.