Prayagraj: Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday alleged that the theft of offerings at the Ram temple in Ayodhya was a travesty of the faith and devotion of followers of Sanatan Dharm. “Lord Ram has exposed the theft, and he will reveal even more truths,” he said.“Everyone knows the reality. In the case of the stolen offerings, only the ‘small fish’ are being caught, while the ‘big fish’ are being shielded,” Yadav said. He appealed to followers of Sanatan Dharm not to vote for the BJP or seek election tickets from the party, alleging that it had betrayed Lord Ram.He further alleged that BJP leaders were unnerved by the CCTV footage because, according to him, people had come to associate “CC” with “chadhava chori” (theft of offerings) and “chanda chori” (theft of donations). “The BJP will not receive chanda, chadhava or votes,” he claimed.Yadav alleged that the BJP’s focus was on donations rather than the nation and claimed there had been rampant corruption under BJP-led govts.Claiming that “neither dharma nor sharm (shame) exists in the BJP’s vocabulary,” Yadav alleged that the theft of offerings from Lord Ram’s temple in Ayodhya was a mockery of faith. He further claimed that people in Ayodhya believed the trail of the stolen donations led to Karnataka, where, according to him, unregistered underground operatives influenced voters during elections and participated in electoral conspiracies.Referring to the alleged theft, Yadav remarked, “Thieves are like step-brothers; they even stole the smallest offering meant for Lord Ram.”The former chief minister alleged that corruption was at its peak under the BJP govt. He claimed that water tanks being constructed under the Jal Jeevan Mission were unable to withstand “the burden of corruption” and alleged that “the pipeline of corruption extends all the way to Lucknow’s Kalidas Marg.”He said the Samajwadi Party would take issues such as corruption, dilution of reservation, inflation and unemployment to the people.Yadav further alleged that the BJP deliberately wanted to keep people entangled in paperwork so that they remained stuck in queues and were unable to question the govt. He also claimed that the state’s law-and-order situation had collapsed and that people were not getting justice.He further alleged that there had been discussions about advancing the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections because the government anticipated public resentment over a shortage of DAP and other fertilisers. According to him, the govt would be unable to ensure adequate fertiliser supplies during the wheat sowing season, and holding elections earlier would prevent the shortage from becoming an electoral issue.Targeting the BJP, Yadav alleged that primary schools were being closed on a large scale to keep children uneducated and uninformed, making them dependent on feudal forces and preventing them from leading dignified lives.He said the government must demonstrate genuine intent to prevent question paper leaks, adding that such incidents could be effectively checked if the government acted honestly.Yadav said education under a Samajwadi Party govt would be employment-oriented and technology-driven. He also said his party would work to attract greater investment, while alleging that the BJP leadership was unconcerned about the anger among the youth.He further alleged that despite spending thousands of crores of rupees, the BJP govt had failed to clean the Ganga. He claimed that funds meant for cleaning the river had been misappropriated and asserted that the Ganga could not be cleaned unless its tributaries were also cleaned.Akhilesh also alleged that bulldozers had been used disproportionately against members of the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) communities and claimed that most alleged fake encounters had also involved members of these communities. He accused the BJP of denying them reservation benefits and employment opportunities.He promised that if the Samajwadi Party came to power, it would ensure transparency in examinations, protect reservation rights and dignity, guarantee justice for all, and implement measures mandated by the courts from time to time.Akhilesh alleged that the BJP did not respect the Constitution and claimed that democracy and the Constitution could be protected only by removing the present govt. He said the Samajwadi Party had united those who had been “victimised, humiliated and distressed” under the current regime.Claiming that the BJP had fared poorly in terms of assembly segments during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Akhilesh said the ruling party was now “rattled” and predicted that it would be defeated in the future. He also alleged that the BJP was attempting to alter the Constitution by engineering defections of Members of Parliament after being rejected by the electorate.
