‘Farak Saaf Hai’: Akhilesh Yadav Hits Back at PM Modi Over Saryu Canal Project

Akhilesh Yadav said, "Samajwadi Party believes in development whereas they (BJP) believe in changing names.”

Narendra Modi (left), Akhilesh Yadav (right).

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

While inaugurating the Rs 9,800 crore Saryu water canal project in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, 11 December, used the platform to take a dig at Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhliesh Yadav, saying that he was waiting for someone to come and take credit for the project.

"I was waiting since morning to see when will somebody come and say we laid the foundation stone for this project. Some people do this out of habit, maybe they cut the ribbon for this project in their youth. Some people's priority is cutting ribbons, our priority is completing the work."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Modi’s comments came after Yadav had said in a tweet in Hindi in the morning, “There are two types of people in the world, some who actually do the work and some who just take the credit.”

Using Bharatiya Janata Party’s catchphrase ‘farak saaf hai’ (difference is clear), Yadav added, “the difference between the working government of SP and today's 'kainchi-jivi’ government is clear.”

Further using the launch of the government project as a platform to attack the opposition ahead of the upcoming UP polls, Modi added, “It may be true that they have cut the ribbon of a project years or decades ago, but that is all they do - cut ribbons. The nature of our 'double-engine ki sarkaar' is to complete the work and deliver the projects on time.”

Right after Modi’s jibes, Yadav held a press conference in Lucknow and said, “To complete the Saryu project that was 75 percent complete at the time of SP government, the BJP took five years... In 2022, the Samajwadi Party will proclaim a new era.”

Yadav also questioned the use of government buses for transport of people to the event and said,

"Has any political party used buses like this in the past? Have any District Collectors written letters asking for buses and people to be arranged like this... these are all political rallies that are happening. Has the BJP managed to hold any actual political rallies till now?"

Referring to last week’s videos of UP police lathi-charging a candle-light protest against irregularities in a 2019 UP exam to recruit assistant teachers, Yadav remarked, “the SP gave laptops to the youth and BJP did lathi-charge on them. SP gave Lohia Awaas to the poor and BJP drove over farmers and killed them in Lakhimpur Kheri. Samajwadi Party believes in development whereas they believe in changing names.”

He further questioned the saffron party over farmers’ income and said, “BJP showed dreams that farmers' income will be doubled by 2022, where are the farmers with increased incomes? They spend more on advertisements than on projects. Huge hoardings are put that youngsters are getting jobs, where have they given jobs in UP?”