AI for farmers, not fake videos, says Akhilesh Yadav

<p>Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said artificial intelligence should serve society through medical treatment, agriculture and weather prediction, and must not be weaponised for political ends.</p>
<p>"Jo samaaj mein laaye achhaai, woh hai AI. AI se aaye achhaai," Yadav told reporters, loosely translating the phrase as: whatever brings goodness to society is AI. He said the technology could help farmers get fair prices for their produce and protect crops through timely weather forecasts.</p>
<p>Yadav accused the BJP of using government money and resources to create politically motivated videos using AI. "AI should be used for good, not for negative politics. If they produce such videos, we will produce them too. We will create songs even better than theirs," he said.</p>
<p>On the demolition of a mosque in Saharanpur, Yadav questioned why it was razed within 12 hours when the high court and the Supreme Court were available to intervene. He called it a well-planned strategy and conspiracy. Later, on social media platform X, he said the demolition had become a subject of discussion across the world, harming the country's secular image.</p>
<p>Yadav alleged that the "communal BJP government" in Uttar Pradesh and certain "communal" officials were involved, and demanded their identities be made public. He said if the government did not know the names of those responsible, his party would help disclose them.</p>
<p>He announced he would write to the President of India against what he called a "malicious criminal act" and appeal for the strictest punitive action. Yadav said the constitutional system in Uttar Pradesh had completely broken down under the BJP government, and said he would appeal to the President to protect the constitutional order.</p>
<p>On the economy, he said the BJP government had no answer to inflation, no plan for employment, had failed to attract investment and had made no significant mark on the international stage.</p>
<p>Without naming anyone, Yadav warned that those not abiding by the law today would face consequences tomorrow. "Even if any guilty person escapes today, they will not escape tomorrow," he wrote on X.</p>
<p>He also batted for a caste census. "We also demand a caste census, so that rights and respect are granted according to the population. Reservation was there, reservation is there, and reservation will remain," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.</p>
<p>Yadav said the Kushwaha, Shakya, Maurya and Saini communities made up a significant portion of the population but their numbers were underreported. He asserted they should be properly counted and given rights commensurate with their share of the population.</p>
<p>Taking a dig at the BJP on privatisation, Yadav said the party was "bankrupt" and selling state assets for its own people's benefit. "Someone is selling major assets, while smaller ones are selling smaller items. Some are selling from Delhi, others from Lucknow. The public is now going to give treatment to these sellers," he said.</p>
<p>In an apparent reference to a recent cave-in on the Ganga Expressway in Unnao following heavy rain that created a seven-foot-deep pit, Yadav said: "I would tell the BJP folks that if Maa Ganga calls, don't go via the Ganga Expressway."</p>
<p>Yadav said the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) alliance was coming together in a fight for social justice. He also announced that a holiday would be declared on the occasion of Emperor Ashoka Jayanti, and that work would be done to build a memorial for Babu Jagdev Kushwaha at the riverfront.</p>