Akhilesh promises more freebies to UP state

Lucknow, Sep 8: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said he will soon be announcing more schemes like the distribution of free laptops and smart phones to the people of his state.

Speaking at a function of the Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy, Yadav said he has been told that the Bharatiya Janata Party was rattled about the scheme and was planning to petition the Election Commission of India (ECI) alleging that the state government was bribing people. He, however, asserted that he was not shaken by the charge.

"I am committed to the people of the state and their welfare and would do everything that can be done in this direction," he said while brushing aside charges that the smart phones were to lure people into voting for the ruling Samajwadi Party.

"We are rolling out this scheme to empower people and assimilate information technology into governance," the 43-year-old Chief Minister said while dropping hints that many more such schemes were on the anvil.

He also said that traffic management in cities could well be part of the Samajwadi Party (SP) poll manifesto for the Assembly polls in 2017. At this point, Urban Development Minister Mohd Azam Khan intervened and said that he should rather not spill the beans as the BJP might copy them.

Yadav later laid the foundation of an 'Urdu Darwaza' to be built at Deoband and six hospitals which would be built across the state.

Saying that his government was for all-round welfare of the people, irrespective of their caste or religion, Yadav cited examples of the Haj houses built at Ghaziabad and Lucknow and the Bhajan centres at Chitrakoot and Faizabad.

"I am of the firm belief that the society, the state and the nation can only grow when there is peace, harmony and love for each other" the Chief Minister further stated.

He also took a dig at the Bahujan Samaj Party government from which he took over, saying that while they were wasting precious public money in building monuments and parks, his government was spending the money on infrastructure, power and health sectors.

IANS