Ghaziabad bypoll: CM Adityanath attacks Samajwadi Party, reminds of Ram temple and development

Adityanath said the change of dates happened on account of the festivals of Kartik Purnima and Gurupurab on November 15

Campaigning for his party in the Ghaziabad assembly by-poll, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday attacked the Samajwadi Party (SP) at length and also invoked Lord Ram and development activities undertook by his government to canvas votes for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Sanjeev Sharma.

During his recent visit to Ghaziabad, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had lashed out at the BJP and said that it was on that party’s insistence that the by-poll date was changed and pushed further ahead. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The assembly by-poll was earlier scheduled for November 13 and the date was later revised to November 20 by the Election Commission of India on account of religious festivals.

During his recent visit to Ghaziabad, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had lashed out at the BJP and said that it was on that party’s insistence that the by-poll date was changed and pushed further ahead.

Addressing a gathering in Ghaziabad on Friday, Adityanath, however, said the change of dates happened on account of the festivals of Kartik Purnima and Gurupurab on November 15.

“It was due to festival of Kartik Purnima that different parties appealed to the ECI to shift dates. The ECI then revised the dates. It also happens that day of Eid gets revised if moon is not visible and it also happens for Gurupurab. But when it comes to Hindu festivals and the election date was revised, people celebrated but one political party, the SP, opposed it. It is a party which plays with sentiments of people and it also the safety and security of women, daughters, traders and youth. The SP is anti-development, anti-traders, anti-women and does not respect sentiments of people,” Adityanath told the gathering at Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad.

This was Adityanath’s fourth visit to Ghaziabad in the past couple of months. He was in Ghaziabad earlier on September 18, October 7 and also on August 23.

The Ghaziabad assembly seat is likely to witness a key contest between the BJP and SP candidate Singh Raj Jatav fielded by the INDIA bloc.

During the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, BJP was banking on winning a majority of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh but had to contend with just 33 seats, while the INDIA bloc partners, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, made huge inroads and secured 37 and six seats, respectively.

Batting for the “double engine government” (BJP at the Centre and state), Adityanath said Ghaziabad is surging ahead under the double-engine government while people earlier avoided the city due to prevalence of crime and unclean surroundings.

“Did anyone think that the Ram temple could be constructed? … Within two years of formation of the double-engine government, the 500-year-old issue of Ram temple in Ayodhya was resolved,” Adityanath said.

“I have come here to connect the people of Ghaziabad. Such programmes will be taken to next level, be it construction of Dudheshwar Nath temple corridor or opening of satellite centre of AIIMS in Ghaziabad. So, it is mandatory that BJP should win the seat by a thumping majority,” the chief minister said.

Attacking the SP, he said, “The SP cannot think beyond their personal development, their family development or development of Saifai family. The SP only believes in development of mafias. Any notorious mafia, goondas, rapists or rioters in the districts of UP would have connections with SP. You should keep SP away and this will lead to your development.”

Reacting to statements made by Adityanath, SP district president Faisal Hussain said that the CM has no development works to put forward, and the people of Uttar Pradesh almost showed them the door in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“In every speech, he is lauding his law and order agenda while people continue to suffer at the hands of criminals. Our leader Akhilesh Yadav initiated the Dial100 police emergency response service and the women helpline. The SP gave many development projects such as flyovers, elevated roads and the Metro to Ghaziabad and the BJP could not carry on these works further. People are suffering the price rise, unemployment and uncontrolled taxes, while the BJP has no solution at hand,” Hussain said.

He added that Ghaziabad city still lacks proper roads, sewage/drainage network and also marred by long-standing issues of traffic congestions and pollution.