Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav engaged in a Twitter war to claim credit for Lucknow Metro, the maiden run of which was flagged off on Tuesday.
The Samajwadi Party said the chief minister inaugurated a project that Yadav had already flagged off.
Your Wish Has Finally Come True!
The CM's office posted a 2.27 minute video on its official Twitter handle, in which Adityanath is seen saying, "Your wish has finally come true. This metro is yours — this is a gift for you from the central and state governments...Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been in favour of a congestion-free, cheaper and eco-friendly public transport system."
"We have set a target of March 2019 to complete the second phase of the project," Adityanath said in the video.
But Why Did The Trains Take So Long to Run?
Akhilesh, who is now the SP chief, said his father Mulayam Singh Yadav had flagged off the trial run on the same stretch in December last year, just ahead of the assembly elections, to showcase it as a signature project of their government.
The BJP then attacked the Akhilesh government during the assembly election campaign, asking why metro trains were not running in Lucknow even after the inauguration. Akhilesh shot back saying it was due to the delay in obtaining clearance from the commissioner of Metro Railway Safety, and blamed the Centre for it.
Also Read: Akhilesh, Mulayam, Shivpal – Yadavs Flag Off Lucknow Metro Trial
Who Started The Engine?
A little before the chief minister's office tweeted the video, Akhilesh posted his photographs on his Twitter handle with team members and officials of Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation. The photos were clicked when Akhilesh was the chief minister and were published as full-page advertisements in leading newspapers in Lucknow.
Akhilesh posted a series of tweets to claim credit for the metro services.
"Engine toh pehle hi chal dia tha, dibbey to peechey aanee hi the (The engine had already started running, bogies had to follow)," he tweeted with pictures of metro inauguration to convey that the major part of the project had been completed during his stint as the chief minister.
"Before sitting in the metro started by the Samajwadis, the government should take care of 5,000 stray cattle on the roads," he said in another tweet.
However, state BJP spokesperson Shalabh Mani Tripathi said, "Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated an incomplete metro rail project in a hurry to take credit (during the Assembly elections). Why did he not mention that funds came from the Centre. People will now travel in the metro under BJP government."
(With inputs from PTI.)
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