Yogi Adityanath: ‘Those who respect aastha (faith) can only bring vikas (development)’

Accusing Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav of “only doing politics” and “resorting to propaganda”, the BJP leader said, “I would like to tell Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav that if you pay attention to the figures, their reality will come out. The figures show that before 2014, that is, before Prime Minister Modi, there were only 16 IITs in the country after Congress ruled for a long time, and after 2014, under Modi ji’s leadership, the number of IITs has become 23 — a 40 per cent increase.”

“The number of IIMs has increased from 13 to 22 – an increase of 69 per cent… Before 2014, there was no system like the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana in existence. Today, 600 centres are being operated across the country,” the chief minister said, adding, “I do not know whether these people (Rahul and Akhilesh) are even educated or not. Their ridiculous statements themselves put them in the dock.”

“Before 2014, their parties did not show any interest in building medical colleges, so where could a child have secured admission? And today you are doing politics — only politics, but you cannot do justice to the youth…. During their time, jobs were looted, but now, if anyone plays with the future of the youth, along with property seizure, we will ensure a sentence of life imprisonment. Here too, the policy of zero tolerance will be visible,” the BJP chief minister added.

Adityanath said development required political will and cited the establishment of medical colleges across eastern Uttar Pradesh, including in Amethi, Rae Bareli, Sultanpur, and Ayodhya.

Speaking about Sant Kabir of the Nirgun tradition, after whom the district was named, Adityanath said that Kabir spoke as much against Muslim fundamentalism as he did against Hindu fundamentalism. “But Hindus worship him, while Muslims do not even want to touch him from a distance,” the chief minister claimed.

“Sant Kabir strongly attacked those who spread casteism and cautioned society against those who divide it. This is the reason that even hundreds of years later, his words continue to guide our society. Sant Kabir Das had come to Maghar to fight against hypocrisy. There was a belief among people that those who die in Maghar go to hell, but he said that heaven and hell depend upon one’s deeds. A person who performs good deeds, works for public welfare, follows good conduct, and fulfils his duties can attain heaven anywhere. He proved that this too is a land for attaining heaven,” the CM added.

In recent weeks, since the paper leak protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar that led to Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union Education Minister, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has been accusing the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of ruining the state’s education and examination systems and jeopardising the future of students.

“Education and employment have never been part of the BJP government’s agenda. Its flawed policies have led to the deterioration of the education system. Students across the country are outraged by the anti-education policies, and the youth, concerned about their future, will never forgive the BJP,” Yadav had said.

Addressing a ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Prayagraj last week, Rahul Gandhi, in his first student outreach event after the Jantar Mantar protest, invoked “dard (pain), data and daulat (wealth)” to attack the BJP and RSS. Lauding youths for “fighting against the system”, he said he would always stand with them. Gandhi also regretted that “education certificates have no meaning in India because they cannot give you a job”, with students “trapped” between expensive education, unemployment, and irregularities.

“You spend money on education, work hard, but all the doors of employment are closed… There is a paper leak and some rich child buys the paper and destroys your future,” Gandhi said, adding that, correspondingly, a “decline” in manufacturing, “difficulties in securing loans”, exam paper leaks, and AI replacing jobs were hurting students.