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Yogi takes on Kejriwal, Shaheen Bagh protesters
New Delhi:
New Delhi:
In his first election speech in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday criticised his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal over poor governance and for supporting the Shaheen Bagh anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters.
Addressing a public meeting in Jahangirpuri in the Adarsh Nagar assembly segment, Adityanath took on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, saying they supported those who “shout pro-Pakistan slogans” and “supplied biryani” to them.
In another meeting at Karawal Nagar Chowk in east Delhi, Yogi lashed out at anti-CAA protesters, saying “their ancestors divided India, so they have a grouse against this emerging ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’.”
“These protests happening at various places in Delhi are not about CAA, they are happening because those people are questioning as to how can India emerge as a major power in the world, and they want to stop that rising India,” he said.
Listing out the Modi-led central government‘s decisions on the construction of a Ram Temple, abrogation of Article 370 and ban on triple talaq, the UP CM said people used to say it will result in large-scale violence.
“Patharbaaz gayab ho gayee. Pakistan parasth atankwadi ya toh Pakistan se aane ki himat nahi kar raha hai. Aur agar aaraha hai toh kutte ki maut bhi mare ja raha hain. (The stone pelters have disappeared...Pakistan-supported terrorists now don’t dare to come here and those who come here are getting killed like dogs),” he said.
Training his guns at the Congress and AAP, Adityanath said, “Today, terrorists are not being served biryani. It was the Congress that used to serve biryani in Kashmir (to terrorists)...and now it is Kejriwal who is offering biryani to protesters at Shaheen Bagh.”
In a direct attack on Kejriwal, the UP CM said his counterpart’s sympathises with the “protesters at Shaheen who chant pro-Pakistan slogans”. He asked the people to support the BJP which, he said, has development, good governance and nationalism as its agenda.
The UP chief minister took a jibe at Kejriwal while referring to a tweet by Pakistan’s science and technology minister Fawad Hussain and said he (Kejriwal) is now seeking support from Pakistan. “This shows he doesn’t trust the people of Delhi. He is asking his masters in Pakistan to tell Imran Khan’s minister to issue statement in his support,” he said.
The UP CM held five back-to-back public meetings on Saturday ahead of the February 8 assembly elections. he will address six more public meetings in the next few days.
At all the rallies, the UP CM attacked Kejriwal on the issue of governance. At the public meetings in Narela, Jahangirpuri and Karawal Nagar, he cited the “pathetic condition of roads in Karawal Nagar” to highlight the lack of development work in the country’s capital. “Where is the money going? They have deprived people of basic services,” he said.
Referring to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party as a gang of “political blackmailers”, Adityanath said that you can’t expect good governance from them. He cited the poor quality of drinking water and failure to implement Lokpal in Delhi as key failures of the Kejriwal-led Delhi government. “In politics, if you want to see the tribe of political blackmailers, then the Aam Aadmi Party is an example...You can’t expect governance from political blackmailers,” he said.
At a the public meeting in Narela, the UP CM said, “The biggest power of democracy is ballot, not bullet. I have come here to appeal to you to use the language of the ballot.”
