Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 25 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday launched a sharp critique of the Samajwadi Party (SP) leadership, accusing them of abandoning the political principles of the party's founder, the late Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Speaking at a program organised to mark the 51st anniversary of the Emergency, the Chief Minister questioned the current political alignment of the Samajwadi Party, particularly its partnership with the Congress party.
"People were going to jail in support of democracy, suffering under the tyranny of Indira Gandhi, whether it was Lalu Prasad Yadav or late Mulayam Singh Yadav. What are their current generations doing?" he asked.
CM Yogi further added that the Congress party is destroying the legacy of late Mulayam Singh Yadav. He further recounted how the Yadav opposed an alliance with the Congress party.
"Whenever the Samajwadi Party attempted to ally with the Congress party, late Mulayam Singh Yadav would oppose it. He would say that anything would be possible, but an alliance with the Congress should not be. But what are his successors doing? They are determined to ride on the sinking ship of the Congress party and destroy Mulayam Singh's legacy," he said.
Meanwhile, the BJP is eyeing its third term under CM Yogi. In the last elections in 2022, it managed to secure 255 of 403 seats.
However, the party won just 33 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as compared to 37 by the Samajwadi Party.
Earlier today, CM Yogi described the Emergency imposed in 1975 as a dark chapter in India's democratic history, saying it was imposed by the Congress in the "arrogance of power" to crush the constitutional soul of the nation.
In a post on X, the chief minister said, "25 June 1975 stands as a dark chapter in the history of Indian democracy, when the 'Emergency' was imposed in an attempt to crush the constitutional soul of the nation. The darkness of the 'Emergency' imposed by the Congress in the arrogance of power dealt a deep blow to the freedom of expression and civil rights. To all the great democracy warriors who endured harsh tortures during that difficult time and fought to protect democracy, my heartfelt salutations a millionfold." (ANI)
