LUCKNOW, Feb. 25 -- Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday upped the ante against the BJP, alleging that it weakened the public education system by shutting down thousands of government schools. "The BJP government first conspired to close 27,000 government schools in Uttar Pradesh under the guise of mergers. Now, the 'anti-education' BJP government has admitted in the Rajya Sabha that 18,727 government schools have closed down during the last five years of BJP rule," he said in a statement. The SP chief accused the BJP of maintaining an "anti-education mindset", claiming the government was not only closing schools but also failing to ensure timely distribution of books. "We believe the next elections will be historic with education becoming a decisive issue in defeating or removing the BJP," the SP chief said. htc...