Samajwadi Party hits back at Amit Shah

Lucknow, Jun 7: Peeved at BJP president Amit Shah's stinging criticism of the Akhilesh Yadav government today, the ruling Samajwadi Party said instead of providing assistance to Uttar Pradesh, he was heaping charges in a "childish manner".

"It is a case of a pot calling a kettle black," SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said in a press release hours after Shah criticised the party over several issues including corruption, law and order and "non-implementation" of central schemes.

Chaudhary said it was for everyone to see to what extent corruption is prevailing in (BJP-ruled) Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. "The plight of farmers and poor in these states is known to all," he said.

He said the BJP and the RSS were "nervous" over welfare programmes of the SP government and diverting attention of the people by "spreading rumours".

He alleged they were indulging in character assassination and "fanning communal passion" with 2017 Assembly elections in mind. Earlier in the day, addressing a rally of booth-level workers of the Braj region, Shah had attacked the state government for "not doing anything concrete" to fight corruption and over law and order situation, in the wake of the Mathura violence.

He had also accused the state government of creating roadblock in the implementation of Centre's welfare schemes.

PTI