UP 'lagging' in development as it lags in publicity: Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Those who are ahead in publicity have been exposed and people would give second chance only to those who work, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday in a veiled attack on the Centre.

Addressing a function in Lucknow to flag off 500 ambulances, Yadav said, "How would UP march ahead on the path of development? We are 'lagging behind' because we lagged in publicity, but it is good that those who were ahead in publicity have been exposed."

"People have come to know and they will give second chance only to those who work," he said in an oblique reference to the NDA government.

Mocking the 'Digital India' initiative of the Modi government, the UP CM said that while others were just talking about digitisation, the SP government distributed laptop to students.

He further claimed his government has worked for all sections of the society. "While we are constructing expressways, we are also constructing mandis around it so that produce of farmers reach the market. Samajwadis have maintained the balance," he said.

"I am happy to inform that yesterday when Ratan Tata came and we informed him about the decisions and works done by the government. He himself felt that UP is progressing," Yadav said.

He said those who concentrate on figures know that UP was progressing fast, whether it be Health, Education, Infrastructure or Gross Domestic Product (GDP), leaving other states behind. "If we are developing metro rail, then we have also constructed cycle tracks and worked in dairy sector," he said.

Highlighting the achievements of his government, Yadav said his dispensation has distributed Samajwadi pension which was benefiting 45 lakh women in the state along with the expansion of ambulance services saving several lives.

"For the prosperous person Rs 500 may not mean anything, but for a poor women living in villages its a big amount. We distributed pension without any discrimination," he said.

"It may be that every person, whose live has been saved due to ambulance service, become our associate, but a message should go between the people, what would have happened, if ambulance service was not there," he said.

Speaking on the occasion Yadav said his government would soon take a decision to ensure availability of generic medicines so that poor could get cheap medicine with additional efforts being made to make health services in the state better.

He said direct recruitments would be done in police on the basis of high school and intermediate marksheets.