I also wanted that: Akhilesh on Mayawati's 'rather be PM' remark
Lucknow (PTI) Hours after Mayawati said she would "rather become prime minister", Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said he also wanted that to happen for which he tied up with the BSP in 2019.
Had the alliance continued, the BSP and the followers of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar could have seen who would have become the prime minister, he said.
Mayawati's remark had come following Yadav's comment suggesting that the BJP could make her the President.
Asked to comment on Mayawati's "prime minister" remark, Yadav told reporters on Thursday, "I am happy with it. I also wanted that. Last time (during 2019 Lok Sabha polls) the alliance was forged for this."
"Had the alliance continued, the people of 'Bahujan Samaj', BSP and those who follow principles of Bhim Rao Ambedkar would have seen who would become the prime minister," the Samawajwadi chief said following an Iftar party.
Earlier in the Mayawati said, "I can only dream of becoming the chief minister of UP and the prime minister of the country in the days to come but can never dream of becoming the President."
About demolition of structures by bulldozers, Yadav alleged that action was being taken seeing "caste and religion".
"If they demolish the house of BJP men, they will compensate. In Gorakhpur, shops and structures within 700 metres were razed and later compensation was given. I have heard that compensation was not Rs 100-150 crore but it was about Rs 200 crores," he alleged.
"If CM can be given compensation, why not poor, who are living (on the land) for over 40-50 years," he said.
In Gorakhpur, structures were razed for road widening.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
