Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya targeted Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav over 'Chalo Delhi' march of 'India' alliance.
He claimed that the opposition alliance failed to achieve its target of mobilizing 10 lakh people at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan and very few people turned up at the rally. However, the opposition hit back at Maurya, saying he should focus on his career and his position within the party.
Keshav Prasad Maurya, in a post on 'X', claimed that the Congress and India alliance had set a target of gathering 10 lakh people at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, but only ten thousand people reached there. The entire program proved to be a flop and the public has rejected the conspiracies to topple Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, he said that both these leaders can only become 'fake' contenders for top constitutional and political posts, and it will take them 30 years to reach the real posts.
Maurya said Rahul Gandhi can become a 'fake' Prime Minister and Akhilesh Yadav a 'fake' Chief Minister, but they cannot become the real one.
It will take 30 years for both of them to reach these positions. Unless the goal of 'Developed India' and 'Developed Uttar Pradesh' is achieved, Congress-SP will not come to power and BJP will not go out of power. BJP is the present and future of India and Uttar Pradesh.
The Samajwadi Party hit back at the Deputy Chief Minister's remarks, saying that instead of targeting opposition leaders, he should focus on establishing himself as the chief ministerial face of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.
The party also alleged that Maurya has been marginalized due to the internal politics going on within the BJP.
Speaking to IANS, SP spokesperson Ashutosh Verma said that Maurya is a prominent leader of Uttar Pradesh, but he has been sidelined due to the internal politics going on within the ruling party.
Verma said that Keshav Prasad Maurya is a very good leader of Uttar Pradesh, but due to the internal politics of BJP, he has been marginalized. I sympathize with them because they have not been able to win in the recent elections. He should focus on winning this election and not get entangled in discussions like becoming 'Shadow Prime Minister' or 'Shadow Chief Minister'.
He further said that Keshav Prasad Maurya should at least say that he will be the face of the party for the post of Chief Minister. Unfortunately, the way Keshav has been treated in the last 10 years, especially as a PDA leader within the BJP, has been shameful.
SP MLA Zahid Baig also criticized Maurya's statements. He raised questions on Maurya's political position in the BJP and said that he did not have the freedom to express his opinion freely.
Speaking to IANS, Baig said that the public does not take Keshav Maurya seriously. Before whatever he says, he should think about his own position, his party and his ministry.