English, No No; Computers, Never Never: What Samajwad Is This?

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Enter the state headquarters of Samajwadi Party, situated at 19 Vikramaditya Marg in Lucknow and turn left. There is a small room, which has a computer, a scanner, photoshop software and a card reader. A party functionary, who uses this equipment to send press releases and photographs of leaders to various media houses, runs this office.

And now Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party want to take India back to the 19th century. With the party manifesto saying that they are opposed to English and computers, it seems that the old warhorse is either confused or is surrounded by confused board of advisors who do not realize that computer age came to this country years ago.

Later, in an attempt to control the damage done by these statements amongst voters, mainly from Uttar Pradesh, the party chief and his most trusted general secretary Amar Singh said that this is being misinterpreted and what they said was meant for the rural areas.

But again, Mr. Yadav and Mr. Singh, do you want the villages and people living there to live in Stone Age? Do you want to deny them basic knowledge of computers and English language? Or are you anti-rural and anti-poor? The voters of both urban and rural India would certainly ask you to answer these basic questions.

The party bosses now quote the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi that machines should not replace humans and they are against western culture. As a voter of Uttar Pradesh, I ask Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav that his son Akhilesh holds a Bachelors degree in Engineering from Mysore University. He then went to Australia to pursue higher studies. Did he study in Hindi to get these degrees? And if the answer is no, why did he send his son to for such courses if he was so opposed to English language?

And, ironically the Samajwadi Party itself has recently launched its official website - www.samajwadipartyindia.com. Strangely enough, the site can be browsed in both Hindi and English. If the party and its bosses are so opposed to English language, why have they given the option of going through the site in English!

In this age and height of electioneering when the same party is relying heavily on choppers, planes and high tech gadgets for campaigning, this statement by the party chief seems highly illogical and out of place.