LUCKNOW, June 10 -- A political slugfest has erupted on social media between Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav and UP deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak. What began as an allegation of irregularities in donations and offerings made for the Ram temple in Ayodhya rapidly devolved into a war of words over the state's healthcare infrastructure. The confrontation commenced on June 7, when Yadav took to social media platform X to allege a scam involving donations collected for the Ram Temple. Pathak retaliated on Tuesday, stating: "Has Akhilesh Yadav ever questioned the donations in the name of Babri Masjid? His statements indicate his mindset towards Sanatan culture." Yadav shot back by questioning the state of affairs in the UP health department headed by Pathak. He wrote on X: "Has the minister ever asked any question about the health of his department, taking a deep breath in the ICU? This reflects his apathy towards public interest." At this, Pathak hit out at the state of health care services during the previous SP government. He wrote on X: "Now, let us turn to the figures. See how many government hospitals were there in your government between 2012 and 2017, and how many health units are operational today in the new Uttar Pradesh. From 1947 to 2017, UP had only 17 government and 23 private medical colleges, and today the state has 81 medical colleges.The dream of one medical college in every district of the state is becoming a reality." Pathak also accused the previous SP regime of presiding over several irregularities in the health sector. He alleged that scams worth thousands of crores had surfaced in the 102 and 108 Samajwadi Ambulance Yojana and in recruitment processes within the health department. He further claimed that a major fraud in appointments to technical posts had come to light, wherein fake recruitments were allegedly secured in six districts through the misuse of a single individual's identity and documents, with salaries being drawn illegally for years. Pathak also alleged irregularities in the World Bank-assisted Uttar Pradesh Health Systems Strengthening Project, valued at around Rs.700 crore, and said the public had not forgotten these controversies. htc...