Lucknow, Feb 9 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the Union government of deliberately dragging its feet on the agricultural laws issue as it wants to exhaust the protesting farmers.

The former chief minister also alleged that the BJP government at the Centre intends to keep the issue alive till the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh so that it can use it for levelling all kinds of allegations on the opposition parties.

In a statement issued by the party here, the SP chief said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is only concerned about his global image and not that of the country.

Several international personalities, including singers Rihanna, Jay Sean, Dr Zeus and former adult star Mia Khalifa, recently came out in support of Indian farmers who have been protesting for over two months against the three contentious agri laws.

Yadav alleged that Modi was acting at the behest of his capitalist friends.

“It seems that the BJP government wants to keep the issue of the farm laws alive till the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh so as to succeed in levelling accusations on the opposition parties. But the mood of the people and farmers is different this time," Yadav said.

"People and farmers have now come to understand the conspiracies of the BJP and will rest only after removing it from power. Farmers are fighting for their survival and hundreds have lost their lives in this struggle," the former chief minister said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)