Purvanchal Expressway: Akhilesh hits out at BJP

Former Chief Minister and the Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for taking credit for the Purvanchal Expressway project.

Prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the project today.

Akhilesh said, "BJP is taking credit for the expressway which was originally SP government's brainchild. In fact, the alignment of the expressway was also approved by our government. The project was named 'Samajwadi Purvanchal Expressway'. The word 'Samajwadi' has been removed. BJP only knows how to deceive people. This expressway was meant to even connect Varanasi. The Prime Minister is perhaps unaware that his own constituency is cut out from the project."

He further said, "Farmers under our government provided their land for the Expressway without any protest. This Expressway now built under this (Yogi Adityanath) government is planned six-lane whereas we had plans to expand the expressway from six-lane to eight-lane. This government has not even kept the prospects of eight-lane in future. They have sacrificed on lights and service lanes in the name of cost-cutting."

Yadav further emphasised that even the Samsung project, which was inaugrated recently in Noida during the visit of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, was SP government's project, and it has now been taken forward by the BJP government.