Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday trashed Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar's statement that the SP is staring at a split.
Om Prakash Rajbhar earlier on Wednesday claimed that the Samajwadi Party will witness a major split. He also alleged that SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav had submitted a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, without elaborating on the contents of the purported communication.
Reacting to Rajbhar's comments, Akhilesh said mockingly, "Dana aur gana kab tak chalega yeh afsana (how long will their 'benefits and songs' continue)"
The SP chief asserted that the party remained strong and it was the BJP that had a history of "engineering" defections through inducements and pressure.
"The SP remains united. It weathered many ups and downs in its journey. It is a strong party, and it remains so," he said.
Akhilesh also noted that the BJP previously succeeded in breaking several parties, including taking away legislators and leaders from the SP.
"If you look at Uttar Pradesh, several SP MLAs, MLCs and even Rajya Sabha members were taken away. There must have been some self-interest, some lure or some fear... People who get scared leave their party," he said.
Underlining that political workers willing to confront the BJP needed courage and conviction, Yadav said, "If the BJP has to be challenged, there should be a team of brave people."
Recalling an earlier interaction with the media, the former chief minister said that he had already declared that he would not attempt to engineer defections from the BJP.
"I had said earlier that I will not break the BJP. But while the BJP is breaking other parties and poaching MPs, it is their own legislators in Uttar Pradesh who are preparing to switch sides.
"There are many such people who reveal their cards only at the appropriate time. They cannot be relied upon," he said.
SP MP Rajeev Rai also dismissed Rajbhar's claims accusing him of making small talk without any purpose.
"I had said in the Lok Sabha elections of Ghosi that there is a disease of 'bakbak-itis' (talkativeness/chatterbox). Now if there is no cure for it, then are we responsible for that? Why do you take all three of them (father and sons) so seriously? This disease also spreads pollution. Don't ask," Rai said.
Meanwhile, with preparations intensifying ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Akhilesh said the party has resolved to change political outcomes in Gorakhpur and will work towards defeating BJP in the region.
"This time we will work to bring the BJP to a zero in Gorakhpur," he said.
"We have resolved to change the results in Gorakhpur. Very soon, the party organisation will decide when to hold party meeting in Gorakhpur," he added.
He alleged that the BJP government, over its ten-year tenure, has shut a large number of primary schools in Gorakhpur and weakened the education system in the region.
"During the BJP's ten-year tenure, primary schools have been systematically shut down in Gorakhpur, with the highest number of closures occurring in that region. The Chief Minister has closed 500 primary schools in Gorakhpur alone and has been responsible for snatching away 1,500 government jobs. While there were over 2,000 primary schools in 2017, only a handful remain today," Yadav said.
He further alleged a worsening law and order situation and a decline in public health infrastructure in the state.
"Uttar Pradesh now ranks first in crime, with Gorakhpur experiencing the highest rates. Despite the Chief Minister spending most of his time there, atrocities against Dalits in Gorakhpur are at an all-time high. The number of Primary Health Centers has dwindled to the point where they exist in name only, as the government is intentionally taking away jobs and weakening public services to force people toward private hospitals," he said.
Attacking the state's governance and infrastructure, Yadav said the Chief Minister's own constituency reflected administrative failure.
"The Chief Minister is effectively running a 'Gorakh dhandha' (shady racket) in his own district. Even the infrastructure is being misrepresented, as a four-lane road should not be called an expressway--it should be at least six lanes--and the Gorakhpur Link Expressway is currently in a pathetic state. If the Chief Minister cannot manage his own home constituency, the condition of the rest of the state is easily imaginable," he said.
He also levelled political allegations against the ruling party and questioned electoral processes.
"In the BJP, religion has become synonymous with money. There was blatant dishonesty in the Kundarki assembly elections, and the refusal to provide CCTV footage was a cover-up; if released, the footage would expose the corruption and the theft of religious donations and offerings," Yadav said.
Further, he alleged irregularities in land allocation and governance practices, claiming, "In Ayodhya, lands were snatched from the people, leaving farmers and merchants to weep in despair. Now, money is being stashed away while the government encroaches upon public ponds."
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
