Lucknow, Nov 2 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday took a swipe at Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav over the INDIA Bloc’s ‘Chalo Dilli’ march, claiming that the Opposition alliance had failed to achieve its target of mobilising 10 lakh people at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan and the rally witnessed a poor turnout. However, the Opposition hit back at Maurya, stating that he should focus on his own career and standing within the party.
He also remarked that it would take the two leaders several years to become Prime Minister and Chief Minister, respectively.
“The Congress and INDIA Bloc had set a target of gathering 10 lakh people at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, but only ten thousand turned up; the entire event turned out to be a flop show, and the public has rejected the designs to topple the government of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,” Maurya claimed in a post on X.
Taking a further dig at Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, he said the two leaders could only become ‘fake’ holders of the top constitutional and political positions, adding that it would take them 30 years to attain the actual posts.
“Shri Rahul Gandhi can become a fake Prime Minister and Shri Akhilesh Yadav a fake Chief Minister, but not real ones; it will take both of them 30 years to attain real positions. Until ‘Viksit Bharat’ and ‘Viksit Uttar Pradesh’ are achieved, Congress-SP will not come to power, and BJP will not go out of power. BJP alone is the present and future of India and Uttar Pradesh,” Maurya added.
The Samajwadi Party hit back at the Deputy Chief Minister over his remarks, suggesting that he should concentrate on establishing himself as the BJP’s Chief Ministerial face in Uttar Pradesh instead of targeting Opposition leaders.
The party also alleged that Maurya had been sidelined within the BJP due to internal political dynamics.
Speaking to IANS, SP spokesperson Ashutosh Verma said Maurya was a prominent leader from Uttar Pradesh but had been pushed to the sidelines because of internal politics within the ruling party.
“Keshav Prasad Maurya is a very good leader from Uttar Pradesh, but he has been sidelined due to internal politics within the BJP. I have great sympathy for him as he has been unable to win elections recently. He should focus on winning this election and not get caught up in discussions about being a shadow Prime Minister or shadow Chief Minister,” Verma said.
“Keshav Prasad Maurya should at least assert that he will be the party’s Chief Ministerial face. Unfortunately, the way Keshav ji has been treated over the past 10 years, particularly as a PDA leader within the BJP, has been shameful,” he added.
Meanwhile, SP MLA Zahid Beg also criticised Maurya’s remarks, questioning his political standing within the BJP and suggesting that he lacked the freedom to express his views independently.
Speaking to IANS, Beg said, “The public does not take Keshav Maurya seriously. Whatever he says, he should first reflect on his own position, the party he belongs to and the ministry he holds. If he does not have the freedom to sit or speak according to his own views, then what is there to say about him? Therefore, until the public takes him seriously, it would not be appropriate for us to comment on him.”
–IANS
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