Lucknow: Chiding the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh for the Muzaffarnagar riots, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the former has lost his credibility after the communal violence.
‘The people of UP had great expectations from their young CM, but sadly he failed to maintain law and order,’ the Union Minister asserted while talking to newspersons here.
The lackadaisical attitude of the Akhilesh Yadav government in the Muzaffarnagar riots has disappointed the people and also affected his goodwill, he maintained.
Both the SP and the BJP want to perform well in the coming Lok Sabha elections after spreading communal tension, Mr Ramesh alleged.
The intentions of BJP were at doubt when it had appointed Amit Shah, a close confidant of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, as party’s UP affairs in-charge, the minister observed.
He alleged the BJP was the main conspirator behind the Muzaffarnagar violence. ‘The BJP can go to any extent to gain power,’ Mr Ramesh stated.
Talking about the coming general elections, the Union Rural Development Minister asserted that the Congress would have a main face-off with regional parties and the BJP was not even close in that competition as the latter had a strong hold in only six states, including Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Delhi and Chhattisgarh.
In Maharashtra and Punjab, the Congress would have the main fight with the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal respectively.
The Union Minister further said has he written to the UP CM five times and met him personally thrice in 18 months regarding embezzlement in MGNREGA. Ironically, the corrupt officials were provided shelter by the state government, he alleged. ‘Sometimes, I feel like not giving any money to UP,’ Mr Ramesh commented.
‘UP lagged behind in giving jobs to the Dalits and women in comparison to other states. The figures were much better in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Rajasthan,’ he said.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government has succeeded in making six important Acts in its regime and it will definitely benefit them in the elections, he said. (PTI)