SP President Akhilesh Yadav Hits Back At CM Yogi Adityanath Over PDA Remark, Gives New BJP Meaning

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday retaliated against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's comment that the P in PDA could someday stand for Pakistan. Akhilesh suggested that if the chief minister could redefine such acronyms, he could also give a new meaning to BJP. Akhilesh stated that Yogi ji had suggested the P in PDA stood for Pakistan, to which he responded by proposing that BJP mean "Bhag Jao Pakistan" (Go to Pakistan). The Samajwadi Party leader added that the more the BJP's pain grew, the stronger PDA would become.

Akhilesh also defined PDA as meaning "Prem, Daya, Apnapan" (love, compassion, and belonging) and asserted that the more the Samajwadi Party united people with love, compassion, and belonging, the stronger it would become. The party would eventually form a historic government, he claimed.

The SP president accused the BJP government of misusing power, alleging that corruption and diversion of government funds were its primary concerns. He also claimed that PDA social group members were facing harassment and that fake encounters were occurring in the state. Akhilesh alleged that the government had turned a blind eye to the theft of offerings at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and had shielded influential people allegedly involved in the theft.

The Samajwadi Party leader's comments followed Yogi Adityanath's assertion that the SP changed colors like a chameleon. The chief minister had previously said the party had initially described the P in PDA as "pichhda" (backward) but later altered it to "pandit" (Brahmin). Yogi Adityanath had stated that one day they might redefine P as "Pakistan."