Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday cited reports of potholes, poor-quality surface layering and structural damage to describe the expressways laid under BJP govt as the epitome of corruption.“The Bundelkhand expressway started giving way shortly after it was inaugurated by the Prime Minister and its maintenance work is still underway till this date. The chief minister got the Gorakhpur Link expressway constructed where there is rampant gorakhdhanda (irregularities) and work is underway there as well,” the SP chief said.“The newly inaugurated Lucknow-Kanpur expressway is in a shambles. There are cave-ins all over. Now an RCC bridge has started giving way. The Ganga Expressway turns into a water expressway,” Akhilesh said.He said Lucknow-Agra Expressway that was built under SP govt still stands as an example of world-class quality construction.“NHAI and PWD are trying to replicate the construction standards of the Lucknow-Agra Expressway, but without success,” he said.A tech team of SP conducted a survey of sorts, talking to drivers of vehicles plying on eways built under BJP govt where they pointed out poor-quality construction as a common factor in all expressways.“It is not only about expressways. Everything that was done under the SP govt was world class in terms of quality and design as well. The laptops that SP govt gave are still working,” Akhilesh said.He also welcomed former minister Ram Asrey Kushwaha back into the SP after he quit BJP. Several functionaries from Rashtriya Lok Dal, AIMIM and Bahujan Samaj Party also joined SP on the occasion.SP is against UPI fee: AkhileshAkhilesh described BJP’s move to impose a fee on UPI payments as an attempt to impose a toll on the income of the people. “Samajwadi Party is against BJP’s decision to levy fee on UPI payments,” Akhilesh said.It appears as if imposing a fee on UPI payments was the only means left for BJP to achieve the 1 trillion-dollar economy goal.
