Will govt seek forgiveness for past 'bulldozer actions': Akhilesh cites SC observation to target Adityanath

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday sought to corner Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by citing a Supreme Court observation, and asked whether the state government would now seek forgiveness for razing houses using bulldozers.

Currently engaged in an exchange of barbs with the chief minister over the use of bulldozers, the Lok Sabha MP said the Supreme Court has observed that the 'bulldozer action' is not constitutional.

"As far as the bulldozer is concerned, think what kind of bulldozer has been run by the court that now the bulldozer cannot run. Those who used to scare people with bulldozers, used to demolish people's houses at various places... This means that you deliberately ran the bulldozer to humiliate those you wanted to take revenge against and because of arrogance of power. Now, the result is that from the high court to the Supreme Court, it can be said that the bulldozer is not constitutional but unconstitutional," Yadav told reporters here.

"The Supreme Court only yesterday said that now the bulldozer cannot run, so will the government apologize for the bulldozer that was running till now?" the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

On Adityanath's retort that it takes "heart and mind" and "bulldozer-like capacity" to run a bulldozer, Yadav said a bulldozer does not have a brain, "but has a steering".

"Who knows when the people of Uttar Pradesh will change someone's steering or when the people of Delhi will change someone's steering," he said, in a lighter note.

Yadav had on Tuesday said that the direction of the bulldozers would be turned towards Gorakhpur -“ Adityanath's home district -“ after 2027, if the SP forms its government in the state.

Further speaking to reporters at SP's Vikramaditya Marg office here, Yadav said since the results of the Lok Sabha elections, neither the chief minister has been able to sleep in peace nor has he allowed his officers to.

On the Adityanath's apparent remark about 'chacha-bhatija' (Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav) reign of "terror" in Uttar Pradesh prior to 2017, the SP chief said, "Do not get confused, do not believe it at all because I know that newspapers and media are also a bit biased' As far as the mafia is concerned, take out the old records and see, was anyone else also called mafia?"