LUCKNOW: On way back from his parliamentary constituency of Azamgarh to the state capital, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday sought to rediscover his links to Ayodhya, saying his party members were Ram and Krishna bhakts.
Yadav, a former CM, halted for a few hours in the temple town Ayodhya. “Lord Ram belongs to the Samajwadi Party as much as to anyone else. We are Ram and Krishna bhakts,” he said.
He said he would soon visit Ram Janmabhoomi premises along with his family and pay obeisance to Lord Ram.
The SP chief recalled that he had got the trees of sacred Paarijaat planted all along the Parikrama Marg, the outer periphery of Ayodhya. The light and sound show along the banks of the Saryu was courtesy of his government, he said, and so was a bhajan sthal (prayer point).
He was bitterly critical of the ruling BJP over farm reforms and the ongoing farmers’ stir. “They (the BJP) could have brought a law so that farmers could get a fair price for their produce, he said.
“Instead, the government brought out black laws to benefit the corporate houses,” he said.
With 2022 Assembly polls in focus, the SP chief said his party would be back in power bagging 351 seats in the 403-member Assembly.
Over the prospects of alliances for the polls, Akhilesh said his party’s experience with big parties had not been good, so he was planning to ally with smaller outfits, sparing at least one seat to his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia).
Earlier this month, Shivpal had expressed dismay over “no response” from Akhilesh to his call for unity among all socialist parties.
“I have repeatedly called for bringing all those with ‘samajwadi’ ideology on one platform and forming a coordination mechanism so that everyone gets respect,” Shivpal had said in a statement.