Adityanath ‘lacks courage’ to face farmers on ground: Akhilesh Yadav-OxBig News Network

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Monday (June 9, 2025) criticised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for conducting an aerial survey of crops, saying he “lacked the courage” to confront angry farmers on the ground.

Mr. Adityanath had carried out an aerial survey of maize crop on Sunday (June 8, 2025).

In a post on X, Mr. Yadav took a swipe at Mr. Adityanath’s survey, saying it was not time constraints but fear of public anger that kept him away from meeting farmers directly. The former Chief Minister did not name anyone in the post but posted a news report of the survey.

“Those doing aerial surveys for agriculture are not short of time, but short of the ‘courage’ required to face the farmers’ anger on the ground,” Mr. Yadav wrote in Hindi.

He further questioned the effectiveness of such surveys, asking whether stray cattle — a major issue for farmers in the State — can even be seen from such heights.

“Farmers are asking, can stray animals be seen from such an altitude?” he posted.

The remarks come amid growing complaints from farmers about crop damage due to unseasonal rains and the menace of stray cattle, an issue that has remained a concern in rural Uttar Pradesh.