SP-BJP spar over Purvanchal Expressway launch by PM Modi today

Ahead of the foundation stone laying of Rs 23,000-crore Purvanchal Expressway by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, a war of words erupted between the BJP and Samajwadi Party (SP).

The SP accused the BJP of capturing the development projects of the erstwhile government by laying the foundation stone of the Purvanchal Expressway, which was already inaugurated by then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in December 2016.

“Former national secretary of the Samajwadi Party said that the Purvanchal Expressway was inaugurated by the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on December 22, 2016,” the SP had tweeted on Wednesday.

SP spokesman Sunil Singh Sajan took a dig at the BJP government, saying that the party has nothing of their own, therefore, terming the works done by the erstwhile SP government as their own.

"The SP government had vision while this government is sans any vision. They only want to term the work done by the SP government as their own. They simply have nothing of their own to showcase to the people of the state," SP spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan said.

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Reacting to the SP’s allegations, the BJP termed the 2016 inauguration claims "baseless", saying that only 20 per cent of the land acquisition work was done when the expressway was reportedly launched by Akhilesh Yadav.

“How was the expressway inaugurated on December 22, 2016, while only 20 per cent of the land was acquired by December 2016 in the name of Purvanchal Expressway?” Uttar Pradesh BJP tweeted.

As part of BJP’s mega election campaign for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi will begin his two-day tour to Uttar Pradesh on Saturday and lay the foundation stone for the 340-km Purvanchal Expressway at Azamgarh.

Apart from the laying the foundation stone of Purvanchal Expressway, Modi will visit his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi and address a public rally in Mirzapur.