Chandigarh, February 23 – Launching a broad attack on the Centre, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday questioned the government’s handling of a recent protest by the Youth Congress, alleged large-scale manipulation of voter lists, and asserted that the opposition INDIA bloc remains united ahead of crucial elections.
Speaking to the media in Chandigarh, Akhilesh Yadav said the government should have verified the intentions of the delegates before inviting them.
"What happened should not have happened. This is the Government of India’s mistake. Before inviting delegates, the government should have checked what they were planning to do there," he said, adding that agencies also failed in their duty if they could not anticipate a protest.
On Opposition unity, Akhilesh Yadav said the INDIA alliance was intact and focused on defeating the BJP in the upcoming elections, particularly in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
"The alliance is intact and will remain intact. The Uttar Pradesh election in 2027 will not only decide the state’s future but also set the direction for 2029," he said, cautioning against what he described as divisive politics that could fragment society.
Alleging manipulation of voter rolls, the SP chief warned Opposition parties to remain vigilant. He claimed that the votes of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh living in other states were being targeted for deletion through Form 7 applications.
"In Uttar Pradesh, we faced this earlier as well. Today I caught fake signatures of our Municipal Chairman that resulted in the removal of a Muslim voter’s name," he alleged.
Akhilesh Yadav also praised Chandigarh’s urban planning, calling it a model city developed thoughtfully. He suggested that if similar planning had been adopted elsewhere, many urban problems could have been avoided.
"Chandigarh is a planned city. If its model had been followed in developing other cities like Delhi, issues like pollution, dust, traffic congestion and poor drainage might have been addressed," he said.
In a veiled criticism of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's travel abroad, he added that while domestic civic issues persist, "some people have left the country for visits to Singapore and Japan".