PDA members in BJP govt are feeling suffocated: Akhilesh | Lucknow News

Lucknow: MLAs and functionaries in BJP who belong to the PDA community are feeling suffocated and will part ways before the 2027 UP polls, claimed Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday. Akhilesh’s comment came hours after CM Yogi Adityanath defined SP’s PDA as ‘Parivar Development Authority’ in the Assembly earlier in the day. Referring to the CM’s comments, Akhilesh said the CM himself comes from ‘Parivar Development Authority’ itself. “Had his uncle not joined the Math (in Gorakhpur), I don’t see any reason why he (CM) would have been here …. He is a non-resident CM,” Akhilesh said. Commenting on a media query over reports that the Thakur MLAs of the BJP had recently held a meeting in the city, Akhilesh said: “If such a meeting has been held, it suggests that there is a threat to someone’s chair. Such a meeting would not have been held to form the government but when people are unhappy,” Akhilesh said. The SP chief said what prompted the meeting can be explained better by BJP leadership in Lucknow or in Delhi. “Either the meeting was at instance of Delhi ‘people’ or those in Lucknow,” he said, adding: “I know people there (in BJP) from PDA community feel suffocated. They have no hope … They are clear about one thing … in 2027 they will be with PDA,” Akhilesh said.Accusing the BJP of taking up the ‘Vision 2047′ debate in the assembly only to evade answering questions of the SP MLAs in the Opposition, Akhilesh said if they were serious about development, they would have not neglected the development projects that came up during the SP government. The former UP CM said the Lucknow-Agra expressway was riddled with potholes and was not being repaired. “World-class Gomti River Front and JPNIC were built, but both are now examples of gross government neglect. Metro trains in Lucknow and Kanpur are examples of development vision,” he said, talking to the media at Sanskriti School in Lucknow that had come up during the SP govt. Accusing the government of having merged government schools to deprive poor students from PDA community of education, he said once the SP is voted to form the government, institutions like the Sanskriti Schools with even better infrastructure will be set up. INSET‘Govt must address issues of dog lovers’ Lucknow: On the issue of the recent Supreme Court order to relocate stray dogs from residential areas, Akhilesh Yadav said govt must address the concerns of the dog lovers. “When BJP leaders can take care of the cows and at times even bulls, they must also address the concerns of the dog lovers. If the BJP is talking about a developed society and dreams of a developed India, why don’t they have a policy for pets? Why are you not sensitive towards the emotions of the dog lovers,” he asked.