UP elections 2017: Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party is locked in a bitter contest with PM Modi's BJP.
Highlights
- Akhilesh Yadav seeking re-election as Chief Minister
- BJP says he uses religion, caste for recipients of free laptops
- Students picked on merit, tweets Akhilesh Yadav, tags PM
Smack in the middle of a hectic campaign to be re-elected, Akhilesh Yadav turned to Twitter today to kick off the latest round of sparring with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The young Chief Minister tagged the PM as he reiterated that he has provided free laptops to 18 lakh students in Uttar Pradesh -
a scheme, he said, that is in sync with PM Modi's initiative for all things digital.The PM is leading the campaign against Mr Yadav in the strategically key state being treated as a bellwether for the general election that is two years away. Amit Shah, who is the chief of PM Modi's party, the BJP, has accused Mr Yadav of using caste and religion as the criteria for deciding which students should get laptops. Mr Yadav's Samajwadi Party has denied the allegations, stating that a student's merit is the only filter in selecting recipients.
Mr Shah's comments came after PM Modi in a public speech said that
discriminatory treatment in the supply of electricity must end - Diwali and Ramzan both must witness similar arrangements, he said. He also stated that crematoria and graveyards must be given similar space, incriminating a policy of Mr Yadav's government seen as skewed towards making more land available for Muslims, who are among his core supporters. Mr Yadav responded with dramatic flourish, swearing "by the holy Ganga" that the PM's insinuations are untrue. "Can the PM take a similar oath on Mother Ganga," he dared, referring to the river that flows through the PM's constituency of the holy city of Varanasi.
The Chief Minister also used a speech to jeer at a tourism ad for Gujarat, the PM's home state, which promotes a wild ass sanctuary. Gujarat is "misrepresenting a donkey as a special creature," he said, his meaning clear. Yesterday, the PM rebutted, also publicly, "Donkeys are tireless and work for their masters. The people are my master."
Uttar Pradesh has completed four of seven rounds of voting. Results will be declared on March 11.