BJP creating drought hype to cover up price rise: Azam

BJP is creating hype of a drought-like situation in the country to cover up the increase in costs of essential commodities and rail fare or any other price rise in the future, Uttar Pradesh Minister Mohammad Azam Khan said today.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, while opposing BJP member Satish Mahana's adjournment notice on the likelihood of a weak monsoon during the zero hour of the state Assembly, said, "A possibility of minor drought-like situation has been expressed, but the Central government and its ministers are trying to grill it in the minds of the people."
"This is being done to justify the rail and freight fare hike, besides any future move to hike the price of petroleum and other goods," Khan said.

Khan asked Mahana to help Uttar Pradesh get a share in the money that the country would bring back from the Swiss banks, as promised by BJP during Lok Sabha election campaign.
Later, continuing the debate on the general Budget presented on June 19, Pradip Mathur of Congress criticised the SP government for allocating a "mere" sum of Rs 64 crore for the tourism sector.
Saying that many small countries have developed tourism and based their economy on it, Mathur regretted that though there are adequate possibilities in Uttar Pradesh, they are not being tapped.

The same is the case with the Budget allocation for the cultural sector, he said.

BJP's Satish Mahana, Radha Mohan, Das Agarwal and Suresh Khanna attacked the government for shelving the laptop distribution and unemployment allowance schemes, terming it as betraying the youth of the state.
Dalbir Singh of RLD, however, backed the government, saying these schemes were not needed and it was good that they have been discontinued.