Akhilesh Yadav targets Adityanath govt on land acquisition for Gorakhpur corridor

Lucknow, Jun 28 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday alleged irregularities in the acquisition of land for the heritage corridor being built in Gorakhpur, the pocket borough of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

In a press conference held at the SP headquarters, Yadav demanded that the land compensation for the heritage corridor be determined based on market value rather than consent-based agreements.

He alleged that "the government is forcibly getting traders and residents to sign the consent letter by putting pressure through the administration and police so that they do not have to pay more compensation." "If the people of Gorakhpur speak up and reveal the secrets, then instead of a heritage (virasat) corridor, a custody (hirasat) corridor will have to be built there," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

There was no immediate reaction from the BJP.

Yadav claimed that there were irregularities in land acquisition for other heritage projects also due to which the BJP had to face electoral reverses in these areas.

"This is not just about one district, but the whole state.

"In this game, a few BJP leaders benefit while the public is being cheated. This is why (in the Lok Sabha elections) the BJP lost in Ayodhya and narrowly escaped defeat in Prayagraj and Varanasi. Now it is the turn of Mathura and Gorakhpur," the Samajwadi Party national president said.

Yadav also alleged that BJP workers, in the presence of police, blocked roads and threw eggs and stones at vehicles in which a four-member delegation of SP led by Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Lal Bihari Yadav went to Gorakhpur on June 25.

Calling the bulldozer a symbol of injustice, Yadav called upon party workers not to be afraid of the "bulldozer, eggs or black flags" and demanded that the administration take action against those involved in the incident.

Yadav said that instead of the "fake heritage corridor", a "corridor of development will be built when the SP government comes to power" and action will taken against culprits.

Targeting Chief Minister Adityanath, he said, "Think, when is he building the heritage corridor, when he has the last budget left." "If he had to do something for Gorakhpur, then he should remember.. his first announcement that he will build a metro (metro rail service) in Gorakhpur along with Jhansi," Yadav said.

He said the chief minister has made a record of visiting his home district. "No chief minister has visited his home district as much as this chief minister has. Yet, crimes are continuously happening," Yadav said. PTI CDN RT RT RT