PM Modi: Akhilesh Yadav is 'blinded by absolute power'

Lakhimpur Kheri (UP): A day after Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘kaam ki baat’ jibe at him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit back, saying the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister could not see the work done by the Centre as he is “blinded by absolute power”.

Addressing an election rally here, he asked Akhilesh-led Samajwadi Party government to give its account of work done in the past five years.

Urging voters of Uttar Pradesh to give BJP a chance, Modi said if his party is voted to power, all anti-social elements would be behing bars within six months.

The Prime Minister, while speaking about initiatives of his government at the Centre, said, “He (Akhilesh) cannot see the work as he is blinded with absolute power.”

His attack on Akhilesh came a day after the Chief Minister took a swipe at him in the context of his ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme, saying “I want to ask him as to when will he do ‘kaam ki baat’ (talk of something worthwhile)”.

Modi found faults in various works undertaken by Akhilesh and attacked him over law and order situation, saying incidents of rape and murder were on the rise and gangs were operating from inside the prisons.

Contending that the cases of “abduction and riots have increased”, Modi asked Akhilesh, “Is this your ‘kaam (work) or karname (bad deeds)’ which is speaking?”.

In an appeal to the voters, the Prime Minister said, “Give us a chance. All those using ‘katta, chaku and churi’ (country-made pistol and knives) will be behind bars.”

While targeting Akhilesh, he said the trend of first phase of polling held on Saturday last showed that any extent of alliance will not “wash off” his government’s “sins”, an apparent hint at SP’s pre-poll tie-up with Congress.

Reminding Akhilesh that he had “promised to probe scams that took place in the previous BSP regime”, Modi asked, “Why did you shelve probe into scams during Mayawati’s regime? What have you got for this?”

ll paramaters, Modi said, “Do they have the right to sit for the examination (elections) again?”

Referring to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Prime Minister said the people of the state had then taught these parties a lesson and only the representatives of two families of Congress and SP succeeded in winning elections while BSP was nowhere.

In those elections, BJP had got 71 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh while its ally Apna Dal got two. Out of the remaining seven, Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family had won five while Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi bagged one each.

“Akhileshji, after 2014, you had the chance to improve but you were not ready to do something worthwhile for the state. In 2014, when your family was one, there was no dispute and your image was also good, people thought you are a youth and can do something good. But you wasted the opportunity and you are now playing game of alliance,” Modi said.

“Socialist leaders like Ram Manohar Lohia and Jai Prakash Narain fought against Congress in their lifetime but you preferred to sit in its lap and insulted them just for the lust of grabbing chair again,” he said.

Attacking the SP-Congress Common Minimum Programme (CMP), Modi said that realising their condition, it was released in haste by the two leaders (Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi) when polling was underway.

“It was an attempt to save their honour. UP government should have given its account of work done in the past five years but it is not being done,” he said.