Akhilesh Yadav mocks 'sleeping ministers' during UP's 24-hour Assembly session
(SP) president
Akhilesh Yadav
on Thursday targeted the ruling
BJP
over the
Uttar Pradesh Assembly
's special 24-hour session, accusing the government of indulging in "
event management
" rather than serious governance.
Independence Day 2025
Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile
Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji gave India its own currency
Swadeshi 2.0: India is no longer just a market, it's a maker
Posting a selfie of SP legislators from inside the Assembly hall during the overnight sitting, Yadav wrote on X, "The government slept, the opposition stayed awake! The BJP has proved by running a 24-hour House that it has fallen behind in running the state, which is why it is talking about working round the clock."
Questioning the rationale behind the marathon sitting, he asked how many ministers and MLAs from the ruling party had actually remained present for the full duration.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Undo
"The public wants to know the logic behind running the House for 24 hours. What does the government want to achieve by reducing the number of days and increasing the hours? At least keep the Assembly away from your event gimmicks," he wrote.
In another post, Yadav shared a short video clip purportedly showing Jal Shakti Minister
Swatantra Dev Singh
with his eyes closed during the session, with the caption: "Soti sarkar ke sote mantri (sleeping ministers of a sleeping government)."
Live Events
Responding to Yadav's remarks, Swatantra Dev Singh said such attacks were routine in politics and part of the opposition's role.
"The opposition should do its job of attacking the government' that is their duty. My duty is to serve the poor 24 hours a day, and I do it with full dedication and sincerity for their welfare," he told PTI Videos outside the Assembly hall.
On allegations of bias and lapses in law and order, Singh asserted that the
Yogi Adityanath
government was committed to justice without discrimination.
"In Uttar Pradesh, the law takes its own course against anyone found guilty. There is no pressure or bias. Those who fall within the ambit of the law face action," he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
16 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Derogatory comment on B.L. Santhosh is part of urban naxals campaign against Hindu religious places: Harish Poonja
The derogatory comments made by an activist against BJP national general secretary B.L. Santhosh were part of the urban naxals' campaign to defame Hindu religious places, said Harish Poonja, MLA for Belthangady, on Sunday. Talking to reporters in Belthangady, Mr. Poonja said derogatory personal comments were being made against Mr. Santhosh for his criticism of a section of activists, who were using the ongoing probe into the mass burial bodies, to defame the Dharmasthala temple. Mr. Poonja was reacting to comments by Mahesh Shetty Timarody against Mr. Santhosh in his interview with Kudla Rampage online news portal, during a campaign seeking justice for the 2013 rape and murder victim Soujanya. The MLA said Mr. Santhosh has been among the Swayam Sevaks who have been putting their personal interests aside and fighting for the cause of the country. By speaking ill of Mr. Santhosh, a section of activists has defamed the entire Rashtriya Swayam Sevaks. Statements hurting religious sentiments of devotees have continued, as the State government has failed to act tough against 'fictitious reporting' and 'derogatory' comments against the Dharmasthala temple and the revered 'Annappa' spirit, in connection with the probe by the Special Investigation Team on the mass burial issue, the MLA said. Mr. Poonja reiterated the demand for reinvestigation into rape and murder of Soujanya and punishment for the real accused. The Special CBI Court acquitted the lone accused, Santosh Rao, in 2024 for want of evidence. The Karnataka High Court then turned down the demand for a reinvestigation of the case.
The Hindu
16 minutes ago
- The Hindu
People of West Bengal want SIR, says State BJP chief
The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday (August 17, 2025) said the people of the State want Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on the lines of the exercise being carried out in neighbouring Bihar. The remark by the State BJP leadership came after Chief Election Commissioner Gynaesh Kumar said on Sunday (August 17, 2025) that three Election Commissioners would decide when the SIR exercise would be carried out in West Bengal and other States. 'People of West Bengal want SIR. If someone is scared, then it is their problem. People of West Bengal do not want West Bangladesh and another August 16 (Direct Action Day),' State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said on Sunday (August 17, 2025). The West Bengal BJP leadership, including Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, has been demanding SIR in the State for the past few months. Mr. Adhikari has claimed that four categories of voters, including dead voters and voters who are residents of Bangladesh, will be removed from the voter list. The Trinamool Congress leadership has said it will oppose any SIR tooth and nail. Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has a few days ago spoken against selective SIR in certain States like West Bengal and called for dissolution of the Lok Sabha. 'The EC has stated that the voter lists across various States on the basis of which the general elections were held barely a year ago in 2024 are faulty and riddled with irregularities. If that is indeed the case, and if the Government of Inidia agrees with the EC's assessment, then the first step towards conducting a genuine SIR and standing on moral high ground is the immediate dissolution of the Lok Sabha,' Mr. Banerjee posted on social media on August 13. Recently, the release of the 2002 SIR data for West Bengal has caused a stir in the State. Elections in West Bengal are scheduled in 2026.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
16 minutes ago
- Business Standard
'SIR means stealing votes from the people of Bihar': Rahul slams BJP, ECI
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission (ECI) for "manipulating" voter lists, alleging that votes were being stolen in the name of "Special Intensive Revision" (SIR). The Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD Leader Tejashwi Yadav today held a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Aurangabad district. Addressing the public at the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Aurangabad, the Congress MP said, "SIR means stealing votes from the people of Bihar. Earlier, they used to do it secretly. Now they are doing it openly in front of everyone." He launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP, stating that neither he, nor Tejeshwar Yadav, nor the people of Bihar are afraid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the Election Commission. "The people of the election commission say that yes, we will cut voters, and we will not tell you, we will not show you the voter list. What will you do? I will tell you what we will do. We are going to show you the power of the people. We are going to show you the power of Bihar. Modi ji, Amit Shah ji and people of the Election Commission should understand that I am not afraid of you, neither Tejeshwar Yadav nor Bihar. I am saying this as a guarantee, the truth of vote theft. We will put it in front of every citizen of India, in front of their eyes," he later added. The Congress MP alleged that the Election Commission, saying, "The Election Commission asks for an affidavit from me. But when Anurag Thakur says the same thing that I am saying, it does not ask for an affidavit from him." The Leader of Opposition further claimed that in Maharashtra, the INDI bloc won the Lok Sabha elections, but the BJP swept the Vidhan Sabha elections held four months later. "Wherever new voters came, the BJP won there. Our votes did not decrease. The INDIA alliance got as many votes in the Vidhan Sabha as it had in the Lok Sabha. BJP got all the new voters. So we got suspicious," Rahul Gandhi said. The Congress leader alleged that when the INDIA bloc asked the Election Commission to explain the sudden addition of new voters, the poll panel refused to respond. "Election Commission tells us that we will not explain. We do not need you to explain. Then we told them that you have installed CCTVs. The law is that CCTV cameras will have to be provided to any party asking for CCTV. They say they will not provide CCTV. Then we said give us the voter list. They say they will not provide the electronic voter list. The Election Commission and the BJP together have committed theft in Bengaluru Central. I am telling you this with a guarantee," the Congress MP added. The Congress party is currently holding a 16-day 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', protesting against the alleged 'vote chori' that Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission and the BJP of perpetrating. The yatra began from Bihar's Sasaram today, with several leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera, Kanhaiya Kumar and others participating. The Chief Election Commisioner of India on Sunday refuted allegations of "vote theft" by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and asked him to either furnish a signed affidavit or apologise to the nation for his remarks. The CEC also termed the allegations of bias by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabhas as an "insult" to the Constitution of India."...An affidavit will have to be given or an apology should be made to the country. Teesra koi vikalp nahi (There is no third option.) If the affidavit is not received within 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless..." CEC Gyanesh Kumar said while addressing mediapersons at a briefing at the National Media Centre in the national capital. Rahul Gandhi had on August 7 addressed a press conference in New Delhi, in which he presented Congress' research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, a part of the Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency. Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes ,including duplicate voters, invalid addresses, and bulk registrations of votes at single locations. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
