Lucknow: BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday took a 'PDA' jibe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav regarding the appointment of Mata Prasad Pandey as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
Yadav formulated the PDA acronym before the Lok Sabha polls and alleged his rival parties have done nothing for the PDA -- 'Picchde, Dalit and Alpsankhyak' (backwards, Dalits and minorities) -- community. The Samajwadi Party on Sunday appointed seven-time MLA Mata Prasad Pandey LoP in the state assembly.
Speaking to the media before the start of the monsoon session of the Assembly on Monday, Maurya criticised Akhilesh Yadav, asserting that the reality of Akhilesh has been exposed. He reiterated that PDA signifies a significant fraud and expressed his respect for Mata Prasad Pandey, congratulating him on his new role.
Maurya also mentioned that the current feedback indicates that Akhilesh Yadav misled people to gain votes in the Lok Sabha elections, leading to great disappointment among the leaders from that class, who had many aspirations.
The Deputy CM said that the appointment of Mata Prasad Pandey as LoP has led to disappointment among the leaders from backward and Dalit communities.
Taking to X, he said, "As soon as Akhilesh Yadav, the Congress-backed leader of the Samajwadi Party, chose the Leader of the Opposition, the reality became clear. This has caused disappointment among the leaders from backward and Dalit communities who were elected with the support of those reciting the PDA Chalisa in the Samajwadi Party. In the BJP, there is support, development, and respect for everyone. In 2027, we need to repeat 2017. The lotus has bloomed and it must bloom again."
SP ignored PDA after taking their votes: Mayawati
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati also took a dig at the SP for appointing Mata Prasad Pandey, a Brahmin face, Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, alleging the Akhilesh Yadav-led party ignored the PDA community after taking their votes in the Lok Sabha polls.
Reacting to the appointment, Mayawati claimed the SP gathered PDA votes in the Lok Sabha general elections by "misleading" them, especially in the name of saving the Constitution. "But the way these communities have been ignored while appointing the LoP is a matter of concern," she said in a post on X.
There is no place for any PDA community in the SP, except for "one particular caste", she said. "And definitely not for the Brahmin community. Because the oppression and neglect the community faced under SP and BJP governments is an open secret. In fact, their development and upliftment happened only during the BSP government. Therefore, these people (Brahmins) must be careful," she said.
Mata Prasad Pandey appointed as Leader of Opposition
Earlier on July 28, Akhilesh Yadav had appointed senior party leader Mata Prasad Pandey as Leader of the Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. In a statement issued, the SP supremo confirmed the speculation about the seven-time MLA from the Itawa constituency in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar district being appointed to the top spot, representing the party in the Assembly.
Significantly, apart from announcing the name of the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Yadav also approved the appointments of former state minister and Kanth MLA Kamal Akhtar as the chief whip of the party in the Assembly and Raniganj MLA Rakesh Kumar Verma as the deputy whip.
Notably, the development over the appointment of LoP comes after the seat fell vacant when the SP supremo, and then Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Kannauj constituency in the recently concluded elections.
Meanwhile, Mata Prasad Pandey in his first statement to the media after being appointed as leader of the opposition in the UP Assembly said, he will continue to work for the development of the deprived people who have been neglected by this government.
"I will try my best to raise the issues of the deprived people who have been neglected by this government in the Vidhan Sabha. We will raise all issues whether it is in the matter of electricity, law and order, or governance. It is a 5-day session. Now we had requested that the session be extended for another 5 days. Now the government decides how many days it will be. We will try to continue it further so that all the problems can be discussed," the SP leader said.
