Akhilesh Yadav invokes Buddha’s teachings, flags threats to constitution on Buddh Purnima

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav addressed reporters at the party office in Lucknow on Friday on the occasion of Buddh Purnima (Source: Photo by Vishal Srivastava)

He stated that nations at the pinnacle of global progress had followed the path shown by Lord Buddha and acknowledged his contribution in spreading knowledge within India and across the world (Source: Photo by Vishal Srivastava)

Addressing an audience that included Baudh bhikshus, he indicated that challenging times were prevailing in the country (Source: Photo by Vishal Srivastava)

He said that certain forces were posing a continuous threat to the Constitution given by Babasaheb Ambedkar and to democracy (Source: Photo by Vishal Srivastava)

He expressed confidence that Baudh bhikshus would bless his party to achieve success (Source: Photo by Vishal Srivastava)

He stated that places associated with Lord Buddha in Uttar Pradesh, including Lumbini, Sarnath and Kushinagar, would be developed by a future Samajwadi Party government (Source: Photo by Vishal Srivastava)

He said the development would aim to connect people from the bahujan samaj and followers of Lord Buddha with the global community (Source: Photo by Vishal Srivastava)

Speaking about the Maitreya project in Kushinagar, Akhilesh Yadav said some people did not want the project as it was a massive initiative, adding that Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka and other countries had shown interest in contributing while land had already been acquired and farmers compensated during the SP government (Source: Photo by Vishal Srivastava)

He further stated that had the project been completed, people from across the country and the world would have visited and followed the path of Lord Buddha, but alleged that under the current government it had been left half-finished and not allowed to move forward (Source: Photo by Vishal Srivastava)