Cong, BJP realising strength of PDA' ahead of polls, now talking about caste census: Akhilesh in MP

The Congress stopped caste census and implementation of the Mandal Commission report in the past and the BJP was taking a similar stand, but both parties know the importance of “PDA”, or “pichhde (backwards), Dalits and Adivasis”, said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister claimed that the road where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aircraft once landed was built by his SP government, apparently referring to the landing of a C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft on Purvanchal Express in November 2021.

Addressing a rally in Jatara constituency in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, where assembly elections will be held on November 17, Yadav said both the Congress and the BJP are now talking about caste census and reservations to woo the PDA segment.

“It was the Congress that stopped the caste census and refused to implement the Mandal Commission report. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is taking the same path. Now, Congress and BJP are talking about caste census and reservations. As polls come close, both parties realise the strength of PDA,” Yadav claimed.

Yadav said his party was in favour of caste census, 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and a scheme for women better than the MP government’s flagship ‘Ladli Behna’ programme as the aid would be Rs 3000 per month.

Slamming the Modi-led Centre, Yadav claimed those recruited in the armed forces under the Agniveer scheme will not get martyr status or financial assistance in case they are killed in the line of duty.

Can a government that gives such half-baked provisions to soldiers be called nationalist, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister asked.

He claimed that atrocities against women were the highest in MP, while the situation for Dalits and tribals was also dire.

People do not know the enticement that came into play leading to the collapse of the Kamal Nath government in MP and the return of the BJP dispensation under Shivraj Singh Chouhan in March 2020, the SP chief said.

The SP and the Congress are part of the opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) but the two parties are fighting the MP polls separately.

Yadav and Nath had a spat earlier over the lack of an alliance for the MP polls, with the former claiming such behaviour on the part of the Congress could lead to repercussions in UP.

Talking to reporters on the issue, Yadav said, “He (Nath) is an elderly leader and we respect him. Probably, he has forgotten that we (Samajwadi Party) are their ally and this is not his mistake as it could be due to his old age.” Nath will turn 77 on November 18.

Asked about the next year’s Lok Sabha polls, Yadav said, “I am not saying this. But they (Congress) have not taken us along with them in Madhya Pradesh, despite the fact that we were their alliance partner. But it’s good that they have left us. Had they dumped us later, then we would have been nowhere.” Meanwhile, addressing an election meeting at Gunnor in Panna district, Yadav said if someone made a road on which the prime minister landed, it was the Samajwadi Party.

“If you want a swing-like experience, go to the Bundelkhand Express which has been made by a contractor of the BJP. Has the BJP made a road in MP where a plane can land,” he asked, urging people to vote for the SP.