Lucknow: Lending support to protests by residents in Mathura against the proposed Banke Bihari Corridor, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday termed it as “corridor corruption” and likened it to a chapter in the “training manual” on misdeeds of the BJP. “BJP’s aim behind corridors at religious sites is to take control of the donations coming in at the religious sites along with the wealth, property and funds owned by these places of worship.” he said, describing these corridors as a means to enable the govt to take control of sacred sites.In a post on X, Akhilesh said the real idea behind taking over the management and governance of these religious sites was to find ways to sell off the offerings made by devotees at places of worship and pocket the proceeds and to find ways to mislead the people in the name of facilities. He quoted a video to buttress his charge that the BJP govt’s move to develop Banke Bihari corridor has led to unrest in a section of the population around the temple in Mathura.Akhilesh said the real intention behind the move is to find ways to capture land presently in possession of these sites and find methods to make money through it. The idea is to purchase land at throwaway prices and then sell it off at ten times the buying rates. The plan is to destroy small shops and their owners of their limited incomes and take one-time hefty sums from big showroom chains which will result in leaving the locals out of jobs and business, Akhilesh said. He accused the BJP of creating an environment where small-time business outlets will be forced to shut shop when the BJP will take commission from big business houses and help them to set up their businesses in these “corridors”.The SP chief said through these proposed “corridors”, the BJP looks for ways to deprive the small local traders who have been earning their livelihood down the generations for centuries, of their businesses to help outsiders take control of the area. “They are on the lookout for ways to create this local-outsider divide to suit election interests,” he said. “One question that pops up in everyone’s mind is if all these corridors are aimed to benefit local people, why does the BJP fare poorly electorally in regions where these corridors have been built,” he asked.
