Akhilesh challenges UP CM to release district-wise details of '64,000 acres of recovered land'

Lucknow, Jul 9 (PTI) Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav challenged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday to release the district-wise details of the "64,000 acres" of land that he has claimed has been freed from illegal encroachments after the BJP came to power in the state. In a post in Hindi on X, Yadav said, "To establish the credibility of your statement, please also release the district-wise list showing the area and land records of the so-called 64,000 acres of land that you claim to have got vacated." Stepping up his attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister questioned the credibility of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by it to look into allegations of embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. "After the theft in the Ayodhya temple, the way you constituted a sham SIT and got an arbitrary report prepared to cover up the matter, the society has completely lost faith in your words and assurances. The way the figures of deaths in the Kumbh Mela given by you were proved false is still etched in public memory," he said. Yadav further wrote, "Public's question: When there is a difference between the figures spoken and the figures written, which one should they trust?" The remarks came a day after Adityanath, addressing a public gathering in Chitrakoot after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for 124 development projects worth Rs 951 crore, alleged that when his government took charge in 2017, 64,000 acres of government, traders' and poor people's land were under illegal occupation. The chief minister also alleged that "Samajwadi Party goons" used to encroach upon public land by putting up the party's flag and said the land has since been freed and is now being used to set up universities, medical colleges and investment projects generating employment. Adityanath accused the previous SP regimes in Uttar Pradesh of promoting dynastic politics, failing to ensure development and allowing lawlessness and land encroachments, while asserting that the BJP government has transformed the state's infrastructure and governance. PTI KIS RC