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Yogi: SP had made UP ‘centre of crime, anarchy and riots’
SP forgot ‘Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak’ when in power; the state has set a benchmark by holding the Global Investors’ Summit this year, says chief minister
LUCKNOW With an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2027 legislative assembly elections, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Samajwadi Party for its Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak (PDA) rant, saying the perception about Uttar Pradesh had changed after 2017 and the state was heading towards becoming a trillion-dollar economy.
The CM said the SP forgot the ‘PDA’ when in power and was making castles in the air. He also cited the killing of BSP MLA Raju Pal to make his point.
“Was Raju Pal not part of PDA, was Akhilesh Nishad (killed during quota agitation) not part of PDA...why were the names of memorials after BSP founder Kanshi Ram changed...,” said Adityanath during a debate on supplementary demands of grants of ₹28760.67 crore that the House passed before being adjourned sine die.
Taking pot shots at the SP, he said it had made Uttar Pradesh a “centre of crime, anarchy and riots.” Adityanath alleged that the “morale of criminals and land mafia in the state was high before 2017.”
He said they all enjoyed the administration’s support, adding there were riots every second or third day. The CM said the state’s atmosphere changed after 2017. “We have a zero-tolerance policy. The result of this is visible to all of us,” added Adityanath.
The CM said UP would have become completely “kangal” (pauper) during the Samajwadi Party’s tenure as they were “directionless”. But now, the state had set a benchmark by holding the Global Investors’ Summit-2023, he said.
Uttar Pradesh’s GSDP, which was nearly 13 lakh crore in 2016-2017, had reached nearly ₹24 lakh crore and the state’s per capita income also went up. The state had drawn a line for others to follow and the UP government received investment proposals of ₹40 lakh crore through the Global Investors’ Summit-2023 organised here in February, said Adityanath.
“Today, all entrepreneurs of the country and the world are coming and want to come to UP and invest. When these investment proposals come on the ground, it will provide direct employment to 1.10 crore jobs,” he added.
The House also passed a resolution lauding the rescue operations in Uttarakhand, thanking all those involved therein, including the ‘rat hole’ miners who rescued 41 labourers trapped in Silkyara tunnel.
Quoting Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’ from ‘Rashmi Rathi’ wherein Mahabharat warrior Karna questioned all those who raised the caste issue - “Janata jail ka shor machate, keval kayar krur” (only cowards and cruel people make noise about caste), Adityanath said the Samajwadi Party had been left with no issue, and so was talking about the caste issues. The CM also quoted former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s lines: “Aadmi sirf aadmi hota hai” (a man is only a man) to make his point that all the men are equal.
Adityanath said the biggest castes for him were farmers, respect for women and jobs for youths and the supplementary budget provided funds for these sections. He said the state government had presented annual budget of ₹6.90 lakh crore for 2023-2024, and with the supplementary budget, the size of the total annual budget was about ₹7.19 lakh crore now.
He targeted leader of opposition Akhilesh Yadav by pointing out irregularities in various projects during the SP government’s tenure and said the cost of Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre was initially estimated at ₹265 crore but the project had not been completed despite the cost going up to ₹821 crore.
The CM said the cost of Gomti Riverfront project too went up manifold with excess payments being made for 141 contracts, after which CBI and ED inquiries were in progress. He also referred to the construction of new building of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court and said ₹1,561 crore was spent on the project and lakhs were being spent on its maintenance. Adityanath said the maximum strength of the Lucknow bench was 30 judges, and many of the 76 chambers constructed there were lying vacant. Input from agency
