Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Uttar Pradesh government, accusing it of polluting rivers, grabbing land, and dismantling the state’s cultural heritage. Speaking at a press conference in the SP headquarters in Lucknow, Yadav alleged that thousands of people have been displaced in Ayodhya and Gorakhpur in the name of development without proper compensation.
He claimed the ruling party is “turning faith into business” and destroying historical streets and community spaces under the guise of building corridors. “This government doesn’t want to see people happy. They’re grabbing parks, ponds, even trust lands,” he said, calling the system lawless and dominated by “illegal acts” of the BJP’s inner circle.
Yadav also alleged that water treatment plants across the state have been shut, leading to untreated sewage being discharged directly into rivers. “In Bundelkhand, rivers have been dug so deep that mounds now line the roads and fields,” he said.
He criticised the state’s mishandling of the three-day mango festival in Shilpgram, where chaos broke out due to poor crowd management. “Had someone died in the stampede, it would’ve made headlines,” he said, accusing the government of administrative failure.
On infrastructure, he slammed the government for allocating ₹7,000 crore for an expressway to Gorakhpur while ignoring basic facilities for Kanwar pilgrims. “In nine years, not even a corridor worth ₹1,000 crore could be built. The CM worked only for his own locality,” he said.
