‘BJP betrayed people of India by breaking promises’: SP's Akhilesh Yadav at HT Leadership Summit

Yadav said law-and-order had deteriorated in UP, rejecting the perception that frequent encounters and “bulldozer justice” were a sign of improved policing. The Samajwadi Party has no image problem, Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday as he attempted to bust the Bharatiya Janata Party’s development narrative ahead of the assembly elections and put forth an alternative vision anchored in social justice and infrastructure development.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at HT Leadership Summit. (HT Photo)Yadav said that the BJP had betrayed the people of India by breaking their promises and added that the ruling party – which is looking for a third consecutive term in UP – will pay the price in the upcoming polls.Also Read I 'Lens of national interest' key as India navigates turbulent world: Jaishankar at HTLSDeep DiveThe SP chief said law-and-order had deteriorated in the state, rejecting the perception that frequent encounters and “bulldozer justice” – often associated with chief minister Yogi Adityanath – were a sign of improved policing.“If law and order is better, what is the proof of that? The government says it is tough on crime, but data shows crime against Dalits, women and minorities has increased,” he said.He cited examination paper leaks, the protests by unemployed students and frequent allegations of corruption to suggest that the BJP government was more interested in perception management than governance. “You talk about the bulldozer as a symbol of law and order. But law and order cannot be maintained through bulldozers. Whose houses have you demolished? Whose homes have you destroyed? Those who were poor and vulnerable, those who had nowhere else to go. There are records of these actions,” he said.He said that his government built the Agra-Lucknow expressway during its 2012-2017 tenure and added that the project had become a model for expressway construction across the country. He cited data from the National Crime Records Bureau on crimes against Dalits and women, and read out a list of purported strongmen to question the BJP government’s record of maintaining law and order. “In 21 months, we built a six-lane highway that became a model, where fighter planes can land in an emergency. We built the 1090 helpline which the BJP government later showcased as its own. The BJP has done no new metro expansion in the state. It only spends money on PR, to the tune of ₹2 crore a day,” he said.Instead, he pitched the SP – accused by the BJP of promoting strongmen during its earlier stints in power - as a vehicle of development.