UP Elections 2022: Akhilesh Yadav counters Amit Shah’s acronym attack against SP, calls it childish and immature

With Uttar Pradesh assembly elections drawing closer, the war of words between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress has been intensifying. Today, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah addressed a public meeting in Moradabad where he slammed the Samajwadi Party and accused it of stalling the growth of Uttar Pradesh. Shah also coined the ‘Samajwadi LAB’ term to attack the opposition party.

“The Samajwadi Party had set up a new type of laboratory (LAB) in Uttar Pradesh. SP’s LAB means: L-Loot, A-Aatankwad (Terrorism), B-Bhrastachar (Corruption),” said Shah.

He also said that while Western Uttar Pradesh is known for Ganna (sugarcane), the SP keeps chanting ‘Jinnah’. The home minister alleged that when Akhilesh Yadav is asked about the riots that took place during his regime, he doesn’t respond. “I want to ask Akhilesh ji that the people of Uttar Pradesh want an account of how many riots took place under your rule, but he doesn’t answer. I will tell you. 700 riots took place under Akhilesh Babu’s rule. My western Uttar Pradesh was completely left bloodied,” said Shah.

Responding to Amit Shah’s ‘LAB’ remark, Akhilesh Yadav said that at a time when the public in Uttar Pradesh is facing starvation, unemployment, inflation and mismanagement, the BJP leaders are engaged in childish wordplay. “When UP and the country is going through the phase of starvation, unemployment, inflation and mismanagement, then BJP leaders are engaged in childish and immature word making by arranging ABCD and letters. These things neither fill the stomach of the people nor run the house,” Yadav said adding that ‘Baais me janata inka Ksh-Tra-Gya kar degi‘ (Public will finish the BJP in 2022).

BJP leaders including PM Modi often use wordplay to make acronyms to target the opposition. During the 2017 UP assembly polls, PM Modi had coined the term ‘SCAM’ saying it stood for SP, Congress, Akhilesh and Mayawati. Amit Shah had then given a new meaning to KASAB (the Pakistani terrorist) saying KA stands for Congress, SA for SP and B for BSP.