|
Opposition parties boycotted the special session of Uttar Pradesh legislature to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Wednesday.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav along with his supporters sang ‘Ram dhun’ near the statue of Bapu at GPO Park in Hazratganj to commemorate the occasion. The party also screened a feature film on Gandhi.
Justifying the boycott of the special session, the SP chief said, “To hide its shady past, the BJP is trying to appropriate the legacy of Gandhi. The Sangh parivar is against Gandhian principles. The reason for holding this special session is that the BJP wants to hide its misdeeds and wants to project its image as true follower of Gandhi.”
Akhilesh garlanded Gandhi’s statue at GPO Park and sat down and listened to hymns sung on the occasion.
“Gandhi taught the lesson of non-violence and today he is being followed not just in India but across the world. The state can only prosper if it follows the path shown by Gandhiji. The BJP never followed his principles and is far off from the path. Today, the BJP wants to adopt Gandhiji to hide its failures,” the SP chief told reporters.
However, Akhilesh lauded the Congress’ ‘padyatra’ organised by its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, saying that it was good to walk on the path shown by Gandhi.
“People should adopt Gandhi’s principles and implement them in their agenda,” he said.
The SP chief said that his party candidate from Mau, Sudhakar Singh, would contest the election as an independent candidate.
The returning officer declined to allot the ‘cycle’ symbol of Samajwadi Party to Singh as Form B of the nomination was not duly signed by the party. The SP later issued another letter for allotment of party symbol to Singh but the returning officer refused to accept the letter received on e-mail.