'Were EVMs, EC correct when Cong won in 2004, 2009': UP Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya

Lucknow, Sept 28 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday targeted the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP), saying that claiming everything was right when they won elections and questioning the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) when they lost reflected the Opposition's 'double standards'.

He questioned whether the EVMs and the Election Commission were wrong when the Congress came to power at the Centre in 2004 and 2009.

He termed this as 'sweet talk, sharp spit' politics.

Speaking to reporters, Deputy Chief Minister Maurya said that the Congress, SP and other opposition parties were dreaming of returning to power, but the people understood their previous governments and current political attitudes.

He alleged that previous governments had pushed Uttar Pradesh towards chaos, nepotism and backwardness instead of development.

"The SP is our opponent, and the INDIA Bloc is also our opponent. Whether they come together or contest the elections separately, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory chariot will not stop," the Deputy Chief Minister said.

He added that the BJP was determined to form the government for the third consecutive time in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and claimed that the people's blessings were with the party.

Regarding SP President Akhilesh Yadav's PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) formulation, Deputy CM Maurya said that Akhilesh Yadav's PDA and his 'PDA chariot' were fake.

He said the BJP's 'double-engine' government had worked in the interests of backward, Dalit and deprived sections of society.

He added that the BJP government had worked to connect the poor, farmers, women, youth and those at the bottom of society with the mainstream of development.

On the Congress' allegations regarding EVMs and the ECI, Deputy CM Maurya again questioned whether the EVMs and ECI were wrong when the Congress formed the government at the Centre in 2004 and 2009.

He said trusting the electoral system when election results were in their (Congress') favour and questioning the same system when they lost had become a part of the Opposition's politics.

Deputy CM Maurya said the people of Uttar Pradesh did not want a repeat of the previous governments.

He said the BJP government was moving ahead with an agenda of development, good governance and public welfare and would present its work before the people in the 2027 Assembly elections.

--IANS

jk/khz