LUCKNOW, July 6 -- Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has announced that his party leaders will visit villages where primary schools are listed for merger by the Uttar Pradesh government and hoist the national flag on Independence Day. The move, he said, is to protest against the BJP's alleged attempt to deprive the poor of education. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters on Saturday, the former chief minister alleged that the BJP government is shutting down government schools as part of a larger plan. "The BJP does not want the poor to study because an educated person raises questions on inflation, unemployment, and corruption. When schools are closed, how will girls pursue education?" he asked. He further claimed that many of the schools marked for merger were situated at polling booths where the BJP had lost in previous elections. "On August 15, we will not only hoist the flag but also alert villagers about this deliberate strategy," he added. Responding to a query on language politics, Akhilesh said his party supports all Indian languages and stands against any form of discrimination. "From Hindi to Marathi, Tamil to Kannada and Urdu, we respect all languages. People are trying to gain politically by fuelling linguistic disputes. BJP wants to keep this issue alive for its own benefit," he said. On the UP government's decision to hand over the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) to the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), Akhilesh accused the BJP of planning to sell the asset under a "well-thought-out strategy." He said the JPNIC was developed under the Samajwadi government as a world-class facility in honour of Jayaprakash Narayan, a prominent figure in the socialist movement. "As soon as the BJP came to power, it made baseless allegations and dismantled the society governing the centre," he said....