Lucknow, Sep 22 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Saturday said his party was prepared for a mid-term poll. He also held that the prime minister had much explaining to do on matters concerning the economy.
Talking to reporters at Vrindavan after a brief visit to the Banke Bihari temple, the chief minister ruled out the possibility of the Samajwadi Party (SP) joining the UPA-II government. "Who wants to get on board a sinking ship," he asked.
Ahilesh Yadav said his party was firmly opposed to allowing Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail as it was not going to benefit the poor and the farmers.
Supporting the decision of the national leadership of the party to bail out the now-in-minority Manmohan Singh government, the UP chief minister said that this was necessary to prevent communal forces from storming to power.
The 39-year-old chief minister criticised the prime minister's speech to the nation that was telecast Friday, and said that if the country was faced with an economic crisis, the prime minister could not escape responsibility for it.
"The prime minister is an economic expert. When he says money does not grow on trees, he has to give the nation a lot of answers," Yadav said.
