Lucknow: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Samajwadi Party of turning Noida into an “ATM for loot”, SP president Akhilesh Yadav hit back, saying the PM was a “guest” in Uttar Pradesh and would receive a “respectful farewell”.“Hamare pradesh mein mehman bankar aaye hain, hum unko mehmaan mankar hi samman sahit vida karenge (Having visited our state as a guest, we will see him as a guest and accord him the honour and bid him goodbye),” Akhilesh wrote on X in Hindi. In the political circles the “farewell” was being attributed to SP’s claims that the BJP govt will be voted out in the 2027 assembly elections in UP. Similarly, referring to the PM as “guest of UP” was being attributed to the fact that he hails from Gujarat and had contested Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi. “When one sees defeat as imminent, one loses control over his statements and the honour attached to his post. Respecting age and post are a part of our culture and will always remain so. Respectful farewell,” the post read. Meanwhile in another post, Akhlesh tagged a news report to claim that six of the seven new airports inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh govt in the state have shut flight operations and described it as a result of “BJP’s corrupt management”. He said in the BJP govt contracts worth crores are given away to people close to the party for the sake of sharing the money made through such deals. “They don’t plan to operate any airport or have a clear aviation policy, their aim is to make money,” theSP chief said.Akhilesh to address ‘PDA Sammelan’ in Noida today Lucknow: Akhilesh Yadav will address a PDA Sammelan in Noida on Sunday where he is expected to respond to the charges levelled by PM Modi. The event was initially titled as a Mahasabha of the Gurjar community but was renamed as PDA Sammelan after the recent war of words between the BJP and the SP over warming up with the PDA which comprise Pichde (Backward Classes), Dalits and Alpsankhyaks (Minorities). The meet is a part of the chain of similar PDA conferences underway across the state for the past several months. They were launched by the SP during 2024 Lok Sabha elections and are believed to have contributed majorly in the party’s unprecedented win in the Parliament elections.
