Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday alleged that the BJP government will increase prices of petrol, diesel, cooking gas, and fertiliser once the Assembly elections in five states are over. Speaking at a press conference at the party headquarters, he claimed that the Centre has already made preparations for the price hike.
BJP's diversion tactics
Akhilesh said, "The BJP government at the Centre has made the preparations. Once the Assembly elections in five states conclude, prices of essential commodities including petrol, diesel, LPG, and fertiliser will be increased." He added that the BJP would divert public attention by creating a false narrative on women's reservation while raising fuel and fertiliser prices.
The former chief minister noted that the women reservation bill was passed by Parliament in 2023 and notified by the Centre, but the BJP was misleading people to divert attention from the imminent rise in fuel prices.
SP's stand on special session
When asked whether SP legislators would participate in the one-day special session of the Assembly on April 30 to discuss women's reservation, Akhilesh said the party's Legislature Party would take a decision on that.
Homage to AMU's legacy
Earlier, Akhilesh released a coffee table book on 100 years of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) written by Prof Abdul Raheem Bijapur and Prof Rahat Abrar. He recalled the contribution of educational institutions like AMU and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in producing scholars and literary figures of international repute. The former chief minister also distributed tablets to three girl students who made it to the merit list of the recently declared UP Board Examination results.
SP delegation to Ghazipur
A Samajwadi Party delegation will visit Karanda area of Ghazipur on Tuesday to meet the father of a girl from the Vishwakarma community whose body was recovered from a river on April 15. The delegation will provide Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the family and assure help for a thorough probe into the girl's death.
The delegation includes party's national secretary Ram Asrey Vishwakarma, MLA Jaikishan Sahu, national president of Samajwadi Mahila Sabha Seema Rajbhar, and party functionary Reeta Vishwakarma.
Allegations of cover-up
The family has alleged that the girl was sexually assaulted and murdered by a local youth. However, the Ghazipur police are relying on the post-mortem report, which ruled out sexual assault and concluded the cause of death was drowning. The family has questioned the autopsy findings, and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has alleged a cover-up and administrative pressure on the family.
Akhilesh, who earlier announced his plan to visit the family on April 29, said his visit would depend on the outcome of the SP delegation's trip on Tuesday.
District administration imposes ban
The Ghazipur district administration on Sunday night banned all public meetings, political gatherings, protests, and campaigns in the district to maintain law and order. The decision was taken in view of the violence that erupted while a delegation of SP was heading to Karanda to meet the family.
