SP's 'PDA' include women tribals Akhilesh Yadav

    Lucknow, Oct 30 (PTI) Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said for his party, "Pichhde, Dalit and Alpsankhyak" include women, who account for a half of the country's population, as well as tribals and the forward sections of the society.
    "Be it 'Agde' or 'Adivasi' or 'Adhi Abadi' -- everyone is included in the PDA for whom our party is battling," Yadav, who arrived in Lucknow with his PDA yatra on Monday, told reporters.
    "PDA" is a term coined by the SP to refer to the backward sections of the society, Dalits and minorities.
    Hours later, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary described the SP's "PDA" slogan as "Pakhand" (hypocrisy), "Daman" (oppression) and "Ahankar" (arrogance).
    Yadav said the rally has already covered more than 5,000 kilometres across the state and will conclude at Saifai in Etawah district on November 22.
    He said the "yatra" has been taken out to raise awareness about the threat to social justice, rights and honour of people, and to press for a caste census.
    The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister has on several occasions demanded a caste census like the one conducted in Bihar to know the numerical strength of various castes.
    It is said that the "PDA" constituents account for nearly two-thirds of the population of Uttar Pradesh.
    Replying to a question on "PDA", Yadav said, "It is the SP's strategy, while INDIA is the opposition's alliance. PDA is important and we are working to associate people with it."
    "It is also for saving the country from the forces conspiring to divide it," he added.
    "The path to the nation's (Delhi) throne will go through Uttar Pradesh," the SP president said, in an apparent reference to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
    Yadav also criticised the state of health infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh under the Yogi Adityanath government.
    "Dengue is spreading rapidly and in some villages, as many as 20 deaths have been reported. But the state government is sleeping. The son of an MP died in the SGPGI (Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences) here without treatment," he said, adding that the government is not spending enough money on health.
    "The BJP only indulges in conspiracies and spreads rumours through you (the media). It has nothing new to show," Yadav said before starting his "yatra".
    The "yatra" started from the Purvanchal Expressway and covered a distance of about 20 kilometres on bicycles (the SP's election symbol), before culminating at the Janeshwar Mishra park in the Gomti Nagar area.
    It took more than three hours and a half for the rally to reach the park. The route of the rally was chosen carefully to highlight the work done during the previous SP government in Uttar Pradesh led by Yadav.
    It passed through the Amul plant, cancer hospital, HCL, Palassio Mall, Ekana stadium, police headquarters and the Janeshwar Mishra park, all constructed under the SP government.
    On a train accident in Andhra Pradesh that has left at least 14 people dead, Yadav said such events have exposed the BJP-led Centre's claim of possessing the technology that will alert about potential risks. "What kind of 'kavach' is this?" he asked.
    Talking to reporters after the "yatra", Yadav said the BJP's "Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas" slogan is fake.
    Asked about a Dalit conference being organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "What can you expect from those who meet Dailts only after bathing with a soap?"
    Yadav said the SP will move forward with all the parties that are with it and claimed that the BJP will be wiped out in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
    He also alleged that the BJP wanted to finish off the Constitution framed by Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.
    Meanwhile, in a statement issued here by the state BJP, Chaudhary said, "The Samajwadi Party has lost the trust of the public and its leader is desperate to attain the happiness of power. To maintain its relevance in the 'ghamandia' (arrogant) alliance (apparently referring to the INDIA opposition bloc) and remain in the headlines, the SP chief is engaged in event management."
    "The public is yet to forget the hooliganism of the SP government. The PDA ('Pakhand', 'Daman' and 'Ahankar') of that era will be punished this time in the Lok Sabha polls by confiscating the deposits of all SP candidates and throwing the SP out of electoral politics," he said.
    Chaudhary asserted that in the Lok Sabha election, the BJP is going to win all the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
    He said the public has understood the hypocrisy of the SP and no one has forgotten the oppression and atrocities unleashed by it on people of all classes, including backwards, Dalits and the poor, when it was in power in the state.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)