Exhorting people to vote for Narendra Modi so that India could become a progressive country, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that India had become a global power in the last five years because of the progressive policies of the BJP-led NDA government which cared for the poor, the downtrodden, the youth and the farmers.
Addressing a huge election rally in Behat assembly segment of Saharanpur Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday, Yogi attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the SP-BSP-RLD mahagathbandhan for pushing the country to wilderness.
“You can assess how much Rahul Gandhi knows about our culture or rural areas when in Amethi he says that if his party comes to power he will grow ‘sugar plant’,” Yogi said, adding that the BJP was committed for the development of India.
Yogi said that the Modi government had delivered on infrastructure development and key roads had been widened for the convenience of the public. “Traffic jams are now a thing of the past. People are benefiting from smooth flow of traffic that saves crucial time. Time saved is money earned,” he said.
Yogi pointed out that it was in the BJP rule that Saharanpur got a 4-lane road. “We have already started work on the University at Saharanpur. The BJP government has allocated Rs 30,000 crore to develop metro connectivity between Delhi and Meerut and it may also be extended to Saharanpur. We are working for the development, while during previous governments goonda tax was imposed on the innocent people of the district,” he said.
Yogi also lauded the business community of Saharanpur, saying that during the last UP Investors’ Summit, the business community of Saharanpur had pledged investments of Rs 1,000 crore for creation of business and job opportunities for the local youth.
“The state government has created business-friendly environment in the district and in BJP rule in UP, products worth Rs 1,500 crore have been exported to developed nations. We have already formed a marketing strategy under One District One Product scheme for export of wooden products from Saharanpur,” he said.
Terming Saharanpur as the sugar bowl of India, Yogi said the previous governments had systematically closed sugar mills. “We have revived Daya Sugar Mill and will also revive Shakumbhari Sugar Mill. It was in BJP rule that we paid arrears to the tune of Rs 57,800 crore, that were not paid during SP regime. The BJP is committed to offering MSP rates to sugar farmers.
Yogi also took a jibe at the previous chief ministers, both Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, saying that “one was apprehensive of going to Noida, other was apprehensive of visiting Bijnor. I do not believe in superstition because every part of UP is pious for me”.
He said during previous regimes, kidnapping was rampant but it was not a matter of past. “Local markets remain open till late night as people have no fear of being robbed at gun point. Overall, the law and order situation has improved and criminals now fear the police,” he said.
Pointing out how the majority community was ignored during previous regimes, Yogi said even kanwar yatra was not allowed to be taken out in Saharanpur region. “But now things have changed and the majority community can freely worship and take out kanwar yatra due to the efforts of the BJP government,” he said.
Yogi started his rally by offering prayers at Shakumbhari Shaktipeeth.
