Oppn parties sow seeds of anarchy to create rift among people: CM

Attacking opposition parties — the Samajwadi Party (SP), its ally the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the chief minister in Bulandshahr said, “Ye arazakta wali parties hain. Ye danga karati hain aur jaati, mzhab ki dooriyan badhane ka kaam karti hai (These parties are anarchists. They indulge in rioting and create a rift between castes and religions).

During his poll campaigns, so far, Adityanath has for the first time attacked the RLD in Bulandshahr. “SP, RLD and BSP always worked to create a rift among people, but we are working to bring them closer by developing a web of expressways and national highways. The Ganga Expressway, which is being constructed at a fast pace will shorten the travel time between Bulandshahr to Prayagraj to just six hours instead of the present 18 hours,” said the CM.

“During the regimes of the previous governments, traders were forced to pay extortion money and farmers used to walk with their heads down out of fear, but now these people move out without any fear. Now, criminals and mafias are walking with their heads down and placards (of surrender) around their necks,” said Adityanath.

According to UP Police records, as many as 184 alleged criminals have been killed in encounters since March 2017 when Yogi Adityanath took over the reign of the state.

The CM said dynastic and gun-loving elements are not amused by the development of the state, apparently referring to the non-BJP parties and accusing them of fostering a culture of violence in the state.

He said the youths from the state used to hide their identity six years ago, but today they proudly state they come from Uttar Pradesh. “Today, Uttar Pradesh can feed the whole country.”

Adityanath on Friday kicked off his election campaigns from Hapur. Addressing a public meeting, the chief minister said before the first phase of voting (May 4) a few people told him that the Covid-19 pandemic would hit the state again. “I told them in very simple terms that we have even arrested the Covid-19 virus. It won’t do no damage to our people now,” he said.

Adityanath noted that the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and the UP government work in tandem with a constructive approach for the growth of people. “Once the double-engines government moves forward at a synchronised speed, the development of the region is bound to take place. I am hopeful that the results of the urban local body polls (on May 13) will add a third engine to the governance, and then the fruits of development will reach directly from the Centre to the smallest towns,” said the chief minister.

“Even small towns in UP have a population of around six crore and voter strength of more than four crore. Smaller states in our country and even a few countries have a population less than our towns. With such strength, we can achieve the impossible,” he said. The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal are contesting the UP urban local body polls in alliance. They had fought the 2022 UP assembly polls too as allies.