LUCKNOW: With the 100-day honeymoon period of the Yogi Adityanath regime set to end Tuesday, the stage is set for the opposition to gun for the government.
As a prelude of the warfare to come, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav pounced upon the chief minister's decision to skip the customary visit to the eidgah in Lucknow on the occasion of Eid on Monday. Deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma did the honours in Adityanath's place, the latter being content with sending out a peace and joy message to Muslims in the state instead.
Yogi Adityanath's message read, "This festival of happiness enhances the spirit of mutual brotherhood as well as strengthening social unity. It gives everyone a message of peace and harmony in society."
It wasn't enough for Akhilesh Yadav, who said the chief minister should explain his absence.
Further grist to this battle is likely to come when the Adityanath regime releases two booklets on Tuesday to mark its 100 days in office: one is to be a report card -- replete a saffron cover -- eulogising its own achievements; and another with a red and green cover on the mess it inherited from the predecessor dispensation headed by Akhilesh.
The latter document is an indication that the Adityanath government is not willing to take the fire from the opposition. It is to be a white paper, albeit in red and green, highlighting the condition of its inheritance: cases of corruption, inquiries and plundering of the government treasury, etc.
The focus is likely to be on a number of probes ordered into various multi-crore projects like the Gomti Riverfront, Jai Prakash Narain International Centre and the Varuna Corridor. The financial status of the state would also be highlighted and a discussion on how the present government is grappling with the situation state will be held.
For its part, the Samajwadi Party is contemplating to come out with a dossier of the failures of the Adityanath government during the first 100 days. Further, Akhilesh took to Twitter to fire the preliminary salvo. He tweeted: Ram Ram Japna, paraya maal apna (usurping achievements of SP government in their own name).
However, the opposition party seems not to be entirely united. While Akhilesh Yadav is preparing his gunpowder, his father and Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has chosen to go soft on Yogi. He has said the performance of any government should be judged only after six months.
The BJP government, which assumed office on March 18 after bagging 325 of the 403 Assembly seats along with its allies, faces major challenges, some of the biggest being raising funds for the farm loan waiver and law and order issues, including communal clashes.