'Just like Hitler had troopers, BJP has underground force': Akhilesh Yadav slams Yogi Adityanath-govt

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party supremo and Lok Sabha MP Akhilesh Yadav on Monday launched a sharp attack on Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Monday, accusing it of fostering an "underground army" that he claims is harassing and insulting people.
Speaking in a press conference, Yadav said, “Just like Hitler had his troopers, the BJP has created a hidden underground force that is activated from time to time to defame and insult people. The chief minister himself is encouraging this. If anything happens to SP MP Ramji Lal Suman or any party leader, the CM will be directly responsible.”
He further accused the state government of sheltering corrupt officials. “Those who once spoke of zero tolerance for corruption now protect their own tainted officers,” he said.
On the same day, prominent BSP leaders Daddu Prasad and Salauddin joined the Samajwadi Party in the presence of Yadav. Former ministers Dev Ranjan Nagar and Jagannath Kushwaha also joined the party ranks. Daddu Prasad, a three-time MLA, served as rural development minister from 2007 to 2012.

Taking aim at the government’s agricultural policies, Yadav said tomato farmers in Uttar Pradesh were unable to even recover their basic costs. “The BJP government does not support production, only buying and selling — their thinking is that of middlemen. They want to hand over land and businesses to big capitalists in return for donations,” he said in a post on X.
He also blamed the BJP’s policies for worsening the stray cattle crisis, saying it has pushed farmers to abandon agriculture, allowing corporate interests to capture farmland. “Condemnable! Today’s farmers say they don’t want BJP,” he added.
Yadav also reiterated his recent accusation that the BJP is the “biggest land mafia” in the country. “No one has grabbed more land than BJP. Just look at the registries in Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Kanpur, and Lucknow — public land, ponds, everything has been seized,” he alleged.
Citing a recent shooting in Gorakhpur over land, Yadav said both the Supreme Court and high court have criticised the use of bulldozers as inhumane. “The worst land mafia activities have taken place in Gorakhpur and Ayodhya,” he claimed.