Yogi Adityanath Slams Samajwadi Party's PDA Formula, Calls it 'Paraya Dhan Apna'

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday launched a blistering attack on Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav's much-publicised PDA formula, mocking the acronym and alleging that the opposition party's politics remained focused on promoting a single family rather than empowering backward and marginalised communities . Speaking at a media conclave, Yogi said that while the Samajwadi Party describes PDA as Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak, the acronym actually stood for "Paraya Dhan Apna" and "Parivar Development Authority". In a direct jibe at Akhilesh, the chief minister said the SP had a history of using slogans of social justice while concentrating political benefits within a limited circle. He accused the party of practising dynastic politics and seeking to mobilise voters through caste calculations rather than governance and development. "These people talk about PDA, but their politics has always revolved around one family," Yogi said, asserting that the BJP's governance model was based on welfare delivery without discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or region. The CM also sought to contrast the BJP's record with that of previous SP governments, claiming that law and order had improved substantially under his administration and that welfare schemes introduced by the Narendra Modi government had benefited all sections of society. Yogi argued that the beneficiaries of schemes such as free ration distribution, housing assistance, health insurance and direct benefit transfers came from every social group, making development a more powerful political force than caste-based mobilisation. The remarks are the latest in a series of BJP attacks on the PDA slogan, which has become the centrepiece of the Samajwadi Party's political strategy following its strong performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.