Akhilesh slams UP CM over shifting of Etawah safari lions to Gorakhpur zoo
In a tweet, Akhilesh said that shifting of the lions was an attempt to kill the tourism industry in Etawah.
Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over shifting of two lions from Etawah Lion Safari to the soon to be inaugurated Gorakhpur zoo.
Etawah is the home district of Akhilesh Yadav, and the Lion Safari was the pet project of the previous government headed by Yadav in the state, while the Gorakhpur zoo is close to chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s heart.
In a tweet, Akhilesh said that shifting of the lions was an attempt to kill the tourism industry in Etawah. He claimed that the SP is with the people of Etawah, who were protesting the shifting of the lions, fearing it will impact employment and tourism business in the district. The BJP government should have opted for another alternative to get lions to the Gorakhpur zoo, he said.
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Two lions—Pataudi and Maryam—have been shifted from Etawah Lion Safari. The shifting took place even as the Samajwadi Party hired a brass band to play somber tunes in protest against the moving of big cats, alleging that the BJP was out to ruin the safari. The two big cats reached Gorakhpur zoo on Sunday.