Akhilesh Yadav Criticises BJP’s ‘Stagnant Thinking’ Over the JPNIC Saga Ahead of Uttar Pradesh 2027 Polls

On Thursday, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav took to social media to lambaste the ruling BJP for what he called a “stagnant mindset” that, in his view, drags Uttar Pradesh away from modernity. He posted a short video of the newly‑opened Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) – a facility that finally opened after nine years of delays.

“The stagnant thinking of BJP supporters only gathers moss or rusts away with mildew,” Yadav wrote. “On one hand, the underground black history of those treacherous fellow‑travellers who informed on the martyrs of the freedom movement to the colonialists has always stood opposed to the ‘freedom fighters’; and on the other hand, the reactionary narrow‑mindedness of the obscurantist BJP folks stands opposed to ‘modernity and progress.’”

He went on to accuse the party and its ideological allies of ignoring the aspirations of both present and future generations, warning that “neither the generations of history nor those of the future will forgive the BJP and their fellow‑travellers.” The SP chief finished his tirade with a rallying cry: “End the BJP!”

The barbs came just days after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, speaking at a rally in Lucknow on August 30, revived a long‑standing spat by accusing the Samajwadi Party of turning the JPNIC into a private enterprise. According to the chief minister, the project, originally sanctioned at a cost of ₹200 crore, ballooned to ₹864 crore while still incomplete.

Adityanath further alleged that a committee dominated by SP figures – including Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple, their son Dharmendra and party stalwart Rajendra Chaudhary – had tried to wrest control of the centre from the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA). He claimed the committee was dissolved and that the state’s “zero‑tolerance” policy on corruption would see the matter resolved.

The controversy over who should manage JPNIC has been simmering for months. In July, Yadav himself criticized the decision to hand the centre over to the LDA, calling it an insult to the legacy of socialist icon Jayaprakash Narayan. With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections looming, both parties appear to be using the episode to score political points.

As the debate rages on, the centre – finally inaugurated after nearly a decade – stands as a reminder of how infrastructure projects can become battlefield fodder for partisan wars, leaving ordinary citizens to wonder when the promised benefits will actually arrive.