Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday, 20 June 2026, launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh, alleging that the historic Lal Imli textile mill in Kanpur has been reduced to silence under BJP rule, with workers left to suffer while the mill lies idle.

Context

Posting in Hindi on X, Yadav alleged that the clock hands of a prominent Clock Tower near the mill were removed during the BJP's tenure so that people would not notice the shuttered facility. 'भाजपा राज में क्लॉक टावर की सुई इसलिए गायब कर दी गई, जिससे कि बंद पड़ी, ठहरी हुई मिल की ओर लोगों का ध्यान न जाए' — 'Under BJP rule, the clock tower's hands were removed so that people's attention would not be drawn to the closed, stalled mill,' he wrote.

He invoked the memory of Lal Imli as a mill that was once a source of pride not just for Kanpur but for the entire country. In his words, where once the sound of machinery echoed, now only the 'desolate groans of workers' remain. He closed with a political rallying call: 'भाजपा जाए तो बदलाव आए!' — 'Let BJP go, and change will come!'

Policy Backdrop

Lal Imli is a storied woollen and textile mill in Kanpur, historically one of India's most significant industrial landmarks. Kanpur's textile and manufacturing clusters — once the engine of Uttar Pradesh's industrial economy — faced severe distress through the 1990s and 2000s as post-liberalisation pressures exposed older mills to competition they could not withstand.

Mills under the British India Corporation, which managed several Kanpur textile units, underwent repeated financial crises and partial closures over these decades. Workers at such facilities have long demanded revival packages and rehabilitation schemes from successive state and central governments. The BJP has governed Uttar Pradesh since 2017 and has faced sustained criticism from opposition parties over the pace of industrial revival in the state's older manufacturing belts.

Stakeholders and Impact

The most directly affected are Kanpur's textile mill workers and their families, who have seen livelihoods erode as historic mills have slowed or shut. Labour unions representing workers at such facilities have periodically raised demands for state intervention, wage arrears, and social security cover.

For the Samajwadi Party, Kanpur's industrial decline is a recurring campaign theme that resonates with the city's large working-class voter base. Yadav's post — which includes a video — is consistent with the party's broader messaging on unemployment and the alleged neglect of traditional industrial centres under the current dispensation. The BJP, in contrast, has highlighted infrastructure investment and newer industrial projects as evidence of economic progress in the state.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to whether the Uttar Pradesh government responds to the political pressure with any announcement on mill revival or worker rehabilitation. Labour union statements and any references to Lal Imli in upcoming state assembly sessions will be closely watched.

With assembly elections on the horizon, attacks on BJP over Kanpur's industrial decline are likely to intensify. Yadav's framing — positioning the mill's fate as a symbol of broader governance failure — signals that the Samajwadi Party intends to make industrial unemployment a central plank of its electoral pitch in Uttar Pradesh.