Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday hit back at Mayawati for accusing him of changing colours like a chameleon and said that his party dreamt of making the BSP supremo, who is uttering such words because of pressure on her, the country’s prime minister.
When asked by reporters about Mayawati’s chameleon remark, Yadav said, “As far as you are saying about the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the socialists have done the work of giving respect and you must have seen how the respect increased.” The former chief minister, who was addressing a meeting organised on the death anniversary of former MLA Ashrafi Lal Yadav in Barabanki’s Badosarai town, pointed to the Samajwadi Party’s alliance with the BSP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Mayawati, while announcing her decision of BSP contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections alone, warned her party leaders to be careful of Yadav, alleging he ‘changed colours like chameleon’ to mislead them’. “Party workers need to be aware of how SP (Samajwadi Party) chief changed his attitude towards the BSP chief like a chameleon, to mislead BSP regarding the INDIA alliance,” she had said on Monday.
Responding to her attack, the Samajwadi Party chief said,”The Samajwadis have always made efforts to unite all the parties. A lot of rumours were being spread through newspapers and television. We will always strive to strengthen the INDIA alliance and include more parties into its fold.”
“As far as the Bahujan Samaj Party is concerned, Samajwadis accorded respect. I remember the time when Samajwadis took the resolve that the Prime Minister should be from the section that has faced the evils of society for several years,” Yadav said.
“Samajwadi Party was dreaming of making (her) the PM, and we worked towards it. But this language… she is talking about ‘changing colours’. She must be saying so because of being under pressure,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
