Kashi road widening reflects BJP’s narrow mindset: Akhilesh | Lucknow News
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said the road widening in Varanasi’s Dalmandi area, which has been going on for the past several years, has left the local traders struggling for survival and it reflected the BJP’s narrow mindset.“There is a perception that the BJP is doing this because the party was no longer getting votes from this area,” Akhilesh said, describing the demolition drive underway as ‘political demolition’. The former UP CM said several businessmen, traders and residents of Dalmandi area had called upon him recently narrating tales of how their businesses have been ruined because the project. “The project has been underway for years now. The atmosphere of uncertainty has left businessmen and traders struggling for survival. The scheme does not preserve or protect heritage but only reflects the politics of demolition. The project reflects BJP’s narrow mindset,” Akhilesh said addressing a press conference at the party office on Friday. Many businessmen and traders from Dalmandi also narrated their ordeal before the media at the press conference pointing fingers at the govt over forced eviction and other disparities. “The Government of India and the Prime Minister had promised to turn Varanasi into Kyoto but these days it is being seen that people of Varanasi are being harassed. Traders are being deprived of their business. Govt is frightening people with its power. In order to achieve its political goals, the BJP is applying the divide and rule approach. This political demolition must be stopped,” he said. Akhilesh said it takes decades and centuries for a market to attain the stature that Dalmandi has attained. “BJP wants to demolish the shops. One can offer another shop as compensation, but who will get the traders and businessmen the clientele that they had nurtured for centuries,” the SP chief said. He said Dalmandi traders were feeling helpless before the govt’s ‘might’ and ‘power’ and growing pain and agony was noticeable. He recalled how metro train projects were launched by the Samajwadi Party govt in Lucknow, Kanpur, Noida and Agra and how Rs 50 crore were set aside for the metro in Varanasi for which a detailed project report (DPR) was also made. “But the BJP govt stopped the project. Our train project did not displace any market, traders or businessmen,” he said.Akhilesh inaugurates dangal on MSY’s b’day eve On the eve of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s birth anniversary, Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated a wrestling competition in Lucknow’s Sarojininagar on Friday. The competition was organised by former MLA Shyam Kishore Yadav. Akhilesh congratulated the wrestlers and described the event as the right tribute to former defence minister and UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav who himself was very fond of the traditional Dangal (wrestling) as a sport.
