Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. (File photo)

LUCKNOW: Holding the opposition and the media responsible for the poor perception of law and order in Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav attempted to corner the BJP-led NDA government for the failure of law and order in Gujarat.

In a pointed attack at the BJP during the Smart Infrastructure Summit, Akhilesh hinted at the Dalit uprising in BJP-ruled Gujarat and the repeated instances of violence being reported from the Westen state. He said, “BJP wants to rake up on law and order in UP. But they should look at the condition of their own state. I don’t want to comment on how weak we are on the borders. I am from a military school and many of my batchmates are serving in the armed forces. I know, therefore, how weak we are on the borders and in the World.”

The CM also attacked the BJP on it’s effort to drum up nationalistic fervour with the party’s ‘Tiranga Yatra’. “We are not against the national flag being hoisted. But the BJP is trying to lead the country in another direction. They had promised ‘Acche Din’. Where are they now? To divert attention from real issues, the BJP comes up with these things,” Akhilesh said.

On Tuesday, Akhilesh also declared himself as an “under training” chief minister who will do much better if he gets another term as CM. He also dared the BJP -- the party he claimed had accused the SP government of being run by five-and-a-half CMs -- to find a chief ministerial face of its own. “I dare them to find at least one CM face. Then we will see who is ahead. People will decide,” he said. Akhilesh also said UP is the only state in the country that has multiple metro projects being implemented simultaneously. “We have already brought the metro to the constituency of the Union Home minister. Now, we urge the Centre to help us with funds and clearances so that we can take the metro to PM’s Varanasi also,” Akhilesh said. He added, “Next time I present the state budget, I will travel to the UP Assembly by metro.”

Akhilesh also attacked a section of the UP bureaucracy, claiming some officers in his government were working for the political opposition and creating hurdles in implementing SP government schemes. “Like the ambulance service, we want to implement the Dial 100 scheme. But some officers are preventing this scheme from being implemented. They don’t want the policing situation to improve, and for the police to respond to emergency situations in under 10 minutes,” Akhilesh said, while addressing an infrastructure summit in Lucknow.

Putting in a good word for the state’s chief secretary Deepak Singhal, however, Akhilesh said, “We have a very good chief secretary. He has threatened those who don’t deliver with jail. Now, this is also a test for him, to find out who is delaying the Dial 100 project.”

