Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said that he has received an invitation from the Congress to attend the concluding programme of Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on January 30. Akhilesh said that he will discuss with party leaders whether to attend the programme. “I will discuss it with the party and will take a decision,” the SP chief said at a press conference here after launching a calendar dedicated to party founder and father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday invited leaders of 21 political parties to join Bharat Jodo Yatra’s concluding function in Srinagar. Ahead of the Yatra entering Uttar Pradesh on January 3, the Congress had sent invites to the SP chief, BSP chief Mayawati and other regional leaders. Then, Akhilesh in a letter to Rahul wrote, “Best wishes for the success of the Bharat Jodo campaign. India is more than just a geographical expanse, it is united by love, non-violence, compassion, cooperation, and harmony. Hope this yatra achieves its goal of preserving this inclusive culture of our country.” However, days before getting the invite, Akhilesh in a press conference had said that “BJP and Congress were the same”. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Akhilesh hit out at the BJP over the recent row involving their social media handlers. Asked about the arrest of SP worker Manish Jagan Agrawal and an FIR lodged against BJP Youth Wing's BJYM social media cell member Richa Rajput over their tweets, Akhilesh said: “Were mistakes made by both sides? I have changed my (social media) team. The question is that when the BJP can’t compete, they send the police. The question is not about language. What is their language like? That is why I had said earlier that the BJP should use decent language.” On the state government's plan to hold Global Investors Summit in February, Akhilesh said, “I read in Kannauj the work started by a businessman there on his own was passed off as an investment for the Summit. Is it that they are not getting investment from the world and therefore they are passing off local businessmen’s projects as investment from the summit? The government should tell how much money from the first investment summit has reached the ground level. When your old MoUs have not reached the ground level, how will the new ones reach the ground level? This is nothing but preparation for the elections.”
