Sanatan and safety: Yogi sets poll agenda in Ghaziabad

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister urged professionals to reach out to voters as it was difficult for candidates to go door-to-door with just a month left for polls

Kick-starting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s campaigning for Lok Sabha election in Ghaziabad on Wednesday, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said the Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) puts the “nation first”, while the opposition alliance Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) puts the “family first”.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Ghaziabad on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Meeting with professionals from different walks of life during the ‘Prabuddh Varg Sammelan (intelligentsia meet)’ held in Nehru Nagar in Ghaziabad on Wednesday, Adityanath tried to strike a chord with “opinion makers” by raising the issues of ‘sanatan dharma (Hinduism)’, safety and security in the state.

Ghaziabad goes to polls on April 26.

Adityanath urged professionals to reach out to voters as it was difficult for candidates to go door-to-door with just a month left for polls.

He reminded the gathering about the issues of safety and security of women, and of traders and businessmen during the previous regimes and also how his government had helped preserve the ‘sanatan dharma (Hinduism).’

“This is the first election where people are already hopeful about the results. There is ‘INDI Alliance’ with ‘family first’ theory and there is the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with the ‘nation first’ theory under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. The ‘INDI Alliance’ is banking on casteism to disintegrate the social fabric, while the NDA is working with motto of “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas (everyone together for overall development)”,” Adityanath said.

Resorting to the religious card, the chief minister said, “Did Ram Lala (lord Rama) played Holi in Awadh for more than 500 years? Your one vote ensured that Ram Lala will play Holi in Awadh.”

“Earlier, people used to avoid coming to Ghaziabad due to prevalence of crime and garbage. Now, it is becoming a smart city... We have been able to resolve buyer-builder issues...no one was willing before,” Adityanath said.

“Earlier, the daughters and traders/businesses were unsafe. Today, no one dares to stare at our daughters while traders/businesses are flourishing. There were riots, now there is none. There was imposition of curfew due to riots, but, now we are carrying out Kanwar Yatra in a grand manner,” he said.

The BJP has already announced sitting MLA Atul Garg as its candidate for the upcoming polls.

Garg was given preference over sitting MP gen VK Singh (retired). Adityanath in his speech also lauded the efforts of Singh and said he brought rapid development in Ghaziabad.

“But change is part of the system and Atul Garg was given a ticket. He has also been a minister with me earlier (2017-2022),” he said.

Retaliating to the digs made by Adityanath at the Gandhi family, Congress (part of INDIA bloc) leaders said the BJP should first probe the scam it perpetrated through electoral bonds.

“Will there be an investigation regarding thousands of crores gulped by the BJP through electoral bonds? Has the crime in UP really dipped? There are cases of rapes, murders, loot, snatchings etc, on a daily basis. Rates of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders are out of the reach of the common man. We will be announcing our candidate soon to give a strong fight to the BJP,” said Bijender Yadav, district president, Congress.