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Hindustan Times

Akhilesh confused about the meaning of PDA: Swami Maurya

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya on Friday claimed that Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav was himself not aware of the real meaning of his own PDA (Pichda or backward, Dalit and Alpsankhyak or minorities) slogan. 'Sometimes he (Akhilesh Yadav) says 'P' denotes Pandit and sometimes he says it means Pichda. Sometimes he says 'A' in PDA means 'Aadhi Aabadi' and sometimes he says it means 'Anusuchit Janjati'. When he himself is confused what direction will he give to the society,' he claimed when asked if he would go back to the SP following its good show in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on the PDA plank. 'The PDA is nothing more than a drama. So, I have decided to maintain a distance from them (SP people). I am working on ground among people and fighting for their issues, and I do not have time to think about such people,' he added. Maurya, also the Apni Janta Party chief, expressed these views while addressing a press conference at his residence here. On the fourth leg of his state-wide 'Samvidhan Samman and Janhit Hunkar Yatra' starting on Saturday, he said: 'We started the yatra on the birth anniversary of Kanshiramji on March 15, 2025. The fourth leg of it will start from Jagdishpur in Amethi and will pass through Sultanpur, Ambedkarnagar, Ayodhya, Gonda, Balrampur, Shravasti and culminate in Bahraich on May 23.' 'The main objective of the yatra is to wake up the central and state governments, which are sleeping on important issues like inflation, unemployment and atrocities on Dalits and Muslims,' the Apni Janta Party chief said. He also demanded reservation in outsourced jobs and pay for the outsourced employees at par with the government employees. On the Yogi government's action against encroachments, including madrasas and mosques on the Indo-Nepal border, he alleged, 'The BJP government is dividing the society on the basis of religion. This government is meting out step-motherly treatment to OBCs, SCs, STs and minorities alike.'