After about half an hour of delay in Delhi earlier in the afternoon, which Akhilesh Yadav alleged was a BJP ploy to stop him from going to Muzaffarnagar, the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief addressed a joint press conference with the RLD supremo Jayant Chaudhary in the evening.
Announcing a host of schemes for the farming community if voted to power, the duo promised 300 units of free electricity and free of cost electric supply for irrigation.
"A Farmers Corpus Fund and Farm Revolving Fund will also be created to disburse the payments of the produce on time," Akhilesh added.
Asserting his and partner Jayant's farmer identity, Akhilesh promised a waiting time for payments of no more than 15 days in SP's regime. "We will make arrangements for the produce to be bought at the MSP. Main aur Jayant dono kisan ke bete hain and kisano ke haq ke liye aakhir tak ladenge (Both Jayant and I are sons of farmers and will fight for them till the very last)," he remarked.
In a jibe at BJP's offer to Jayant Chaudhary, who had himself tweeted declining the proposition, Yadav questioned the flailing state of the ruling party. "Unka niyotaa maan kaun raha hai? Sochiye kaise halaat hain unki ki niyotaa dena pad raha hai. (Who is accepting their invitation? Imagine what condition they're in...that they're sending invites)."
Akhilesh also lashed out at the BJP for the introduction of the three farm laws. "The BJP got three black farm laws in an undemocratic manner, without any consultations, and tried forcing it on the farmers. But the farmers opposed it and we supported them. We will never allow BJP to force its decisions on anyone in UP," he said.
(With inputs from NDTV.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)