Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday took potshots at the Centre over renaming Rashtrapati Bhavan's famed Mughal Gardens to 'Amrit Udyan' and said it (name change) was a BJP conspiracy to divert attention from core issues such as price rise and unemployment.
The iconic Mughal Gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan will now be known as 'Amrit Udyan', which would open for the public from January 31, an official statement issued on Saturday said. Reacting to the Centre renaming Mughal Gardens, Yadav said, "Why not change the name of Lucknow-Agra Expressway to Amrit Expressway. I wonder if our names may be changed to Amrit by them (BJP).
"All the works done by the Samajwadi Party during its regime will be renamed as Amrit Medical College, Amrit Cancer Hospital, Amrit toilets etc. This (renaming) is a well-planned conspiracy of the BJP to divert the attention of people from the core issues of price rise, unemployment, etc."
Yadav was in Kannauj to provide financial help to family members of two labourers killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. He handed over Rs 1 lakh to family members of each victim. A government job would be given to a member of each family when the Samajwadi Party forms the government in the state, he said.
The Samajwadi Party chief also spoke on the decline in share prices of Adani Group companies during the past week. Share prices of Adani Group companies took a beating for a second straight session on Friday, falling up to 20 per cent and losing over Rs 4.17 lakh crore from the combined market valuation of listed firms after US-based Hindenburg Research made damaging allegations.
The Adani Group denied the allegations and said it was examining legal options to take "punitive action" against Hindenburg Research for its "reckless" attempt to sabotage a mega share sale at the conglomerate's flagship firm. People's hard-earned money invested in Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of India is at stake, Yadav said.
"The game of numbers is on. The real game will be on Monday (when stock markets reopen)," he added. On protests by some BJP activists over his visit to a temple, Yadav said, "Now, BJP members will decide who can visit temple and who cannot." He alleged that development works initiated by his government in Kannauj had been stopped by the BJP.
