Easy to be communal, but being secular is difficult: Akhilesh

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of intentionally raking up communal issues ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday asked the people not to fall in its "trap".

"The big leaders of BJP are misleading the people. They are intentionally stoking communalism and raking up such issues so that no one would ask them about the development.”

"It is easy to be communal, but being secular is difficult," he said at an election rally.

He alleged that BJP was spending thousand of crore of rupees in its campaign and cautioned the people not to get affected.

"Today there is competition to campaign. People of BJP are spending thousand of crore of rupees by engaging a foreign agency. I want to tell that don't get influenced by it as it will promote corruption," Akhilesh said.

He expressed confidence that the Samajwadi Party will come out with flying colours in the vote.

"The role of Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) will be decisive. We are seeking vote on the basis of our work," he said.

On BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi's statement of having a 56-inch chest to carry out development, the UP CM said, "Instead of the chest, it needs a bigger heart. Only a person with a big heart can handle the country."

He said it is only "due to Congress, BJP was visible on the political map".

Akhilesh claimed that SP has left behind BJP in terms of achievements.

"Welfare schemes like those in UP are not running in any of the BJP ruled states, whether its MP, Chhattisgarh or Gujarat," he said.

He said that SP government was helping the people and alleged that the previous BSP regime wasted state funds.

In the cane belt, Akhilesh said SP government increased state advisory price of the cane by Rs 40 per quintal, but the Congress led UPA imported sugar from abroad.

"Due to this factor the sugar mills in the state went into red. But the government made them operational by spending from its own pocket," he said.

Image: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav