Akhilesh Yadav slams UP health minister over power cuts, illness
Synopsis
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on 28 May 2026 attacked a BJP health minister in Uttar Pradesh, saying the minister had traded governance for media interviews while residents suffer power outages and summer illnesses, warning a deputy would face a reprimand.
Key Takeaways
Akhilesh Yadav posted a sharp Hindi-language attack on a BJP health minister in Uttar Pradesh on 28 May 2026 .
He accused the minister of 'proving useless' in the health portfolio and now 'playing the interview-interview game.' The post directly links the minister's media activity to ongoing suffering of residents due to power cuts and heat-related illness.
Yadav warned that a 'deputy' in the state government would face a scolding, alluding to UP's multi-deputy CM structure.
Chronic summer power shortages in Uttar Pradesh have been a recurring political flashpoint since 2017 .
No official response from the UP health department or power ministry had been issued at the time of publication.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav launched a sharp attack on the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday, 28 May 2026, accusing a BJP health minister of abandoning governance duties and turning to conducting media interviews while residents suffer power cuts and summer illnesses.
Context
In a post on X, Yadav wrote in Hindi: 'जो स्वास्थ्य मंत्री के रूप में साबित हो गये बेकार, अब वो बन गये पत्रकार' — loosely translated as, 'The one who proved useless as health minister has now become a journalist.' He added that the minister is 'celebrating summer holidays by playing the interview-interview game' while the people of the state 'writhe in heat and illness without electricity.'
Yadav closed the post with a pointed warning — 'फिर डपट पड़ेगी डिप्टी को!' ('The deputy will get a scolding again!') — and dismissed the conduct as 'extremely childish.'
Policy backdrop
Chronic summer power shortages in Uttar Pradesh have been a recurring flashpoint in state politics since the BJP came to power in 2017. Opposition parties, led by the Samajwadi Party, have consistently linked extended outages to heat-related illness and deaths, particularly in rural districts where grid reliability remains low.
The state's health infrastructure faces its sharpest seasonal stress between April and June, when temperatures regularly exceed 45 degrees Celsius in several districts. Prolonged outages during this window have historically strained public hospitals and primary health centres that depend on stable power for equipment and cold-chain storage of medicines.
Stakeholders and impact
The immediate stakeholders are Uttar Pradesh's roughly 24 crore residents, especially those in semi-urban and rural areas who bear the brunt of unscheduled power cuts during summer. Health workers and district-level officials responsible for managing heat-illness caseloads are also directly affected by any gap in ministerial oversight.
Yadav's reference to a 'deputy' receiving a 'scolding' appears to target the state's multi-deputy Chief Minister structure, suggesting internal friction within the ruling dispensation. The BJP government in Lucknow has not publicly responded to the remarks.
What's next
Political observers will watch for any official response from the Uttar Pradesh health department or power ministry on summer preparedness measures. The remarks are also likely to resurface when the state assembly convenes for its monsoon session, where opposition members routinely raise electricity supply and public health data as accountability benchmarks.
With assembly elections on the horizon and the Samajwadi Party intensifying its social-media offensive, governance failures around basic amenities are set to remain central to the political narrative in Uttar Pradesh.
Point of View
A narrative the SP has cultivated since 2017. The warning about a deputy being 'scolded' is a calculated signal to the electorate that the ruling coalition is fractious. As UP inches toward the next assembly cycle, such daily micro-attacks on ministerial credibility are likely to intensify, particularly around power and health — two issues that poll data consistently ranks as top voter concerns in the state.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Akhilesh Yadav say about the UP health minister?
Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP health minister who 'proved useless' in the role has now 'become a journalist,' giving media interviews while UP residents suffer power cuts and summer illnesses.
Why is power shortage a big issue in Uttar Pradesh in summer?
Uttar Pradesh regularly faces unscheduled electricity outages during summer when temperatures exceed 45 degrees Celsius, straining public health facilities and worsening heat-related illness, especially in rural areas.
Who is the deputy Akhilesh Yadav warned would get a scolding?
Yadav did not name the individual, but the reference appears directed at Uttar Pradesh's deputy Chief Ministers, implying internal accountability issues within the BJP state government.
Has the UP government responded to Akhilesh Yadav's criticism?
As of the time of publication, neither the Uttar Pradesh health department nor the state power ministry had issued a public response to Yadav's remarks.
What is the Samajwadi Party's political strategy on governance issues?
The Samajwadi Party, as the principal opposition in UP, regularly uses social media to link everyday failures in electricity supply and health delivery directly to individual BJP ministers, building a cumulative narrative of governance failure ahead of elections.
