Highway politics: Akhilesh’s token ‘Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway’ ahead of PM's UP visit
LUCKNOW: A day ahead of the inauguration of 341-km long six-lane Purvanchal Expressway by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said he would inaugurate the expressway which he claimed was ‘Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway,’ symbolically by offering flowers.
Significantly, the Ghazipur district administration has denied permission for Akhilesh Yadav’s Vijay Rath Yatra which he wanted to take out in Ghazipur on Tuesday. However, Akhilesh claimed that he would go ahead with his yatra as per the schedule.
As per the order of Ghazipur DM MP Singh, the traffic on Purvanchal Expressway will remain suspended for common people on 16 November due to security reasons in view of PM’s schedule.
The DM asked the Samajwadi Party leader to reschedule the Rath Yatra for Wednesday, November 17 or another preferred day.
The fourth leg of Samajwadi Vijay Rath Yatra was scheduled on November 16 from Ghazipur to Azamgarh. The Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav along with SBSP Chief Om Prakash Rajbhar were expected to share the stage on the Rath Yatra.
He added that the BJP government had not done anything of their own to show during the last four-and-a-half years.
“The work for Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway was started during the SP regime. Now I am getting to know that BJP is trying to copy SP by making fighter jets land on the expressway. We did that five years back on Agra-Lucknow Expressway and had set an example.