Ballia (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 2 : Samajwadi Party candidate from Ballia Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to polls on June 1, has raked up controversy by stating that all fugitives who ran away from the country hailed from Gujarat and were "related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one way or another."
Addressing a rally in Ballia on Wednesday, Pandey said, "We will waive off farmers' loans. You might wonder where the money will come from. We will bring back the financial fugitives who have run away with Rs. 15 lakh crore. With that money we will not only clear the country's debts but also provide an allowance. None of the fugitives are Thakur, Brahman, Yadav, nor Muslim."
He further said, "All the fugitives are from Gujarat and related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one way or another."
As per the seat agreement between the Samajwadi Party and Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Congress is contesting on 17 seats and the Samajwadi Party has the remaining 63 seats in the electorally crucial state.
In the 2019 general elections, the BJP emerged triumphant, securing 62 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, supplemented by two seats clinched by its ally Apna Dal (S). Mayawati's BSP managed to secure 10 seats, while Akhilesh Yadav's SP garnered five. Conversely, the Congress party secured only one seat.