Lucknow: Accusing the UP govt of having failed to set up dedicated corridors for hassle-free movement of kanwariyas and devotees, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav held the BJP responsible for the incident where a CRPF jawan was manhandled on kanwariya route.Talking to media outside the Parliament on the opening day of the monsoon session on recent remarks of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about “fake social media accounts peddling falsehood to call kanwariyas rioters”, he said: “Those who are levelling such allegations are the biggest rioters themselves. Anyone who has studied law will know who has the most cases of rioting lodged against them. People who are calling others (opposition) rioters, have maximum case of rioting against them.” On kanwariyas being associated with violent incidents, Akhilesh said BJP govts in UP and at the Centre were responsible for the situation. “In the past nine years in UP and 11 years at the Centre, the BJP has presented 20 budgets worth lakhs of crores of rupees but failed to give facilities to devotees and kanwariyas,” Akhilesh said. “Kanwariyas have been following a tradition that started centuries ago. Had the govt constructed dedicated corridors for kanwariyas, incidents like manhandling of personnel from armed forces would not have taken place. The way a member of our armed forces was assaulted is concerning,” Akhilesh said.The SP chief had on Saturday posted a video of how a man, identified as a CRPF jawan, was repeatedly kicked and punched by men clad in saffron. Asked about the issues that the opposition wanted to raise in the Lok Sabha, Akhilesh said the Pahalgam terror attack issue was very important.“All Opposition parties want that there should be a discussion on Pahalgam terror attack. The govt should disclose what had happened and if there was any intelligence failure. The PM and the govt should hear the opposition out. We as the opposition will listen to what the govt has to say,” he added.SP workers shower petals on kanwariyasOn the second Monday of Shrawan, SP functionaries welcomed kanwariyas by showering flower petals on them and offering them water and refreshments apart from medical aid at several locations in western UP districts. One such camp was held in Muradnagar in Ghaziabad which was organised by former MLC Rakesh Yadav.
