Akhilesh slams BJP over 'crony capitalism', 'endangering constitution'

Former UP Chief Minister and Samajwadi party leader Akhilesh wrote an open letter addressed to his fellow citizens, claiming this 'attack' on this state was an attack on the tenets of the constitution

Samajwadi Party (SP) president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday for allegedly stoking ‘crony capitalism’ and endangering the constitution.

Referring to the stand-off between the Centre and CM Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, Yadav in an open letter noted that the “attack” on the state was an attack on the values and tenets of the constitution.

In his letter addressed to the fellow Indians, he also mentioned, “In fact, all our founding fathers stood in direct opposition to the views espoused by the BJP and their ideological forefathers, the RSS”.

On Sunday, CBI officials, who had gone to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with alleged chit fund scam, were taken into custody by the local cops. Later, Mamata Banerjee began her sit-in demonstration against the alleged illegal CBI action as started at the order of top BJP leadership.

Without explicitly taking names, Yadav started the letter with “I write to you today because two and a half men – and a media that has been corrupted by their sycophantic portrayal of these men – are on the brink of destroying our nation and everything it stands for.”

“Today, our sovereignty, our natural resources and indeed our youth are being sold to the famous few industrialists, who fund the BJP as long as they deliver policies that benefit them,” he claimed.

Besides, the former UP CM claimed that “every minority in this country lives in fear of lynch mobs fuelled by rumours spread by BJP IT cells – Internet Terrorist cells.”

He said, "In the last 24 hours, it is clear that the democratic republic that allowed our young people to move across state lines, to be assured of a legal framework and strong institutions that protected them and their rights, where elections were free and fair and leaders who represent the least privileged amongst us have been elected – that democratic republic is being systematically hollowed out and destroyed.”

Yadav observed “in attacking Mamata Banerjee, these two and a half men forget her past. Here is a woman who was dragged from Jyoti Basu’s office by the hair for demanding action against rapists and put in jail. Here is a woman who defeated the old patriarchy of the Communist Party in their bastion. Here is a woman who took on large, industrialist interests so that farmers would not lose their land.”