Bihar polls: BJP should read its own manifesto, says Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday targeted the BJP over a range of issues, including the Bihar Assembly election and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, he accused the ruling party of making “false promises” and said it should first be held accountable for unfulfilled commitments in its past manifestos.

Dismissing the NDA’s Bihar manifesto, Yadav said, “BJP leaders make the most false claims. They should first look at their own manifesto.” Taking a swipe at the party, he cited Goa as an example: “In its first manifesto in Goa, the BJP had promised to build new smart cities. What is the condition there today? I myself was stuck in traffic for half an hour.”

Turning to Bihar, the SP chief questioned the BJP’s job and agriculture pledges. “The BJP has promised one crore jobs in Bihar, but earlier it had promised two crore jobs nationwide. Where are those jobs? Where has the farmers’ income doubled? This government claimed it would make farmers prosperous, but today even urea and DAP are hard to find,” he said.

Yadav also urged the inclusion of a column for caste data in the ongoing SIR process in Uttar Pradesh, saying it would be a vital step toward ensuring social justice and informed policymaking.

He said since government officials were already going door to door to verify voter details, the same process could easily be used to collect preliminary caste information.

“When such a massive exercise is already underway and officials are visiting every household to update voter lists, only one extra column needs to be added for caste details. Even if a full caste census cannot be done, at least a primary caste enumeration is possible,” he said.

Such data, he added, would help shape equitable policies and ensure that welfare schemes reach all communities. “We have to make policies for the future and bring economic and social equality. Caste-based data will help us establish a state founded on social justice,” Yadav said. “If this column is added during the SIR and caste data is collected, it will make it easier for us to build a socially just state.”

Yadav also took a dig at BJP MP from Gorakhpur, the actor Ravi Kishan, who recently compared the city to Spain while criticising Bhojpuri actor and singer Khesari Lal Yadav, a candidate from Chapra in Bihar. “Someone should ask him where Spain is on the map,” the SP leader quipped.

The SP chief further criticised the Central government for what he described as yielding to American pressure in trade talks. “India has accepted the US’s demands. The US wanted its textile and dairy products to gain entry into the Indian market, and it appears the BJP government has agreed,” Yadav alleged.

Referring to the recent US tariff war, he warned that such concessions could devastate exporters from Uttar Pradesh, particularly in the textile and handicraft sectors. “Farmers are already struggling to get fertilisers. If the market opens up to foreign milk products, what will happen then? Soon, even non-vegetarian milk will arrive!” he said sarcastically.

With PTI inputs