By PTI
ALIGARH: Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary on Thursday accused the BJP of garnering farmers’ votes by using the credentials of their leader and former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh during the 2017 Assembly elections.
He also promised ‘martyr’ status to the farmers who died during the agitation against the three farm laws and Rs 1 crore to each of their families if his party rose to power.
Addressing a joint rally of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and RLD at Iglas in Aligarh on the 119th birth anniversary of Charan Singh, also his grandfather, Jayant said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had rendered true tribute to the former prime minister by demanding the government to confer ‘Bharat Ratna’ on him.
“After this (demand) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi will not be able to sleep tonight,” Jayant said.
Recalling the campaign for the 2017 Assembly election in the state, Jayant said Amit Shah, the then national president of the BJP, had promised to establish a fund and roll out an initiative titled Chaudhary Charan Singh Samman Yojna for the benefit of farmers.
“Amit Shah, use binoculars to find whether you have launched any such scheme,” he said.
Jayant also sought to know the status on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘promise’ to double farmers’ income by 2022.
Citing figures, he claimed that Uttar Pradesh fared far better during the SP regime compared to the incumbent Yogi Adityanath-led goverment.
“Uttar Pradesh’s economy is in doldrums under Yogi Adityanath. An ordinary farmer and his family cannot lead a decent life today. Our youth are rendered unemployed,” he said.
Hitting out at the BJP for ‘poor’ law and order situation in the state, Jayant said cases of rape and harassment of women, too, had increased under the BJP rule.
“If the SP-RLD forms government, we will accord martyr status to those farmers and Rs 1 crore to each of their families,” he said.
Jayant also promised a pension of Rs 12,000 to farmers on the lines of Rs 6,000 given by the central government under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana.
In the run-up to crucial Uttar Pradesh elections, the SP has entered into alliance with the RLD, that commands support of farmers in western Uttar Pradesh.
Akhilesh Yadav and Jayant were supposed to share the stage on Thursday in Aligarh, a key region of western Uttar Pradesh.
However, earlier in the day, Yadav said he would refrain from participating in public programmes as a precautionary measure after his family members tested positive for COVID-19.
In his absence, the party’s state president Naresh Uttam Patel and senior party leader Salim Sherwani led the rally.
