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Past govts built ‘kabristans’, we made temples, says Yogi in Ghaziabad
While addressing a gathering in Modinagar constituency of Ghaziabad-- his fifth campaign rally in Ghaziabad so far-- Adityanath focussed on the development works his government took up in the last five years, such as the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, the Regional Rapid Transit System and the under-construction Ganga Expressway project
Playing the religious card once again to target the opposition parties, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday the previous government only spent money “constructing boundary walls for kabristans (Muslim burial grounds)”, whereas his government worked on developing pilgrimage centres and temples.
While addressing a gathering in Modinagar constituency of Ghaziabad-- his fifth campaign rally in Ghaziabad so far-- Adityanath focussed on the development works his government took up in the last five years, such as the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, the Regional Rapid Transit System and the under-construction Ganga Expressway project.
The chief minister, during his campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in western Uttar Pradesh, has been attacking the opposition by raking up issues such as riots in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Kairana, and Bulandshahr in the past decade, as well as highlighting the development works taken up by the “double-engine sarkar” --the BJP governments at the Centre and state-level during his regime.
“I should tell you that the only development work they (opposition) have done is build boundary walls of kabristans. They think of kabristans while we think of upgrading dhams (pilgrimage centres),” Adityanath said.
He also dismissed the Samajwadi Party’s (SP) claim of providing residents with free electricity of up to 300 units should the party come to power. “You should ask them if there was electricity available before 2017. The SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party preferred to stay in darkness,” Adityanath added.
He also alleged the SP diverted pension from the specially abled, widows and senior citizens to its party cadres.
The SP has formed an alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) to contest 58 seats in 11 districts of western Uttar Pradesh, thereby turning themselves into a major rival for the BJP government. The Uttar Pradesh assembly election will take place in seven phases, starting February 10.
SP leaders said their campaign has clearly shaken up the BJP cadre, especially considering Ghaziabad goes to polls in the first phase.
“The statements made by BJP leaders show that they want to indulge in the politics of hatred, which the SP is not involved in. This is why we have the support of the people. BJP knows they are on the back foot with the SP emerging as a formidable opponent,” said Rashid Malik, district president of the Samajwadi Party.
“The CM knows that his party is lagging behind. So, he himself is trying to hold regular rallies here while no other major leader of the BJP has come here so far,” he added.
Political experts, meanwhile, said the first phase of the assembly election is going to be crucial--more so due to the recent farmers’ agitation against the contentious farm laws that were repealed by parliament in the winter session. The SP-RLD alliance could swing the votes of farmers and Jats from the agrarian belt of western UP its way. But the chief minister, meanwhile, is only focussing on issues such as crime and riots, which were the issues his party had raised during the last elections too.
“The first phase of the election will help decide the course of action for the next phases in the state. So, the CM himself is putting in extra effort in every seat. If the party fares well, he will be praised. If not, he will have to take the brickbats. So, he is holding regular rallies in Ghaziabad and western UP. But the CM is only focussing on safety, security and riots, which were some of the major issues of the 2017 elections,” said KK Sharma, associate professor (history) at MM College, Modinagar.
BJP office bearers said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally virtually in Ghaziabad on Wednesday. Besides, Union home minister Amit Shah will also campaign in Ghaziabad in the next few days.
