Network18 Exclusive | Nitin Gadkari: Common people have faith in Yogi Adityanath; BJP to win UP with absolute majority

Union Roads and Highways Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on February 10 that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will come to power with absolute majority in Uttar Pradesh due to development and transformation it brought in the law and order situation.

In an exclusive interview with News18, the BJP leader credited Yogi Adityanath for getting the state of the gundaraaj prevalent in previous governments under Samajwadi Party (SP).

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“I am fully confident that we will get an absolute majority in Uttar Pradesh. This is because if you compare the present situation from the previous time, when the Samajwadi Party regime was there, the comparison of the two regimes clearly indicates that the law and order situation in SP time was totally worst,” Nitin Gadkari told News18 in the interview.

“And it is credit to Yogi Adityanath the way he handled and removed the gundaraaj from UP and that is one of the reason that law and order situation is good and that is the reason that the common people have faith in Yogi and 100 percent that will mean victory for the BJP in UP,” Gadkari said as first phase of Uttar Pradesh polls across 58 seats of Western UP is underway.

Gadkari said he was “100 percent confident” that the Jat community of western Uttar Pradesh will support the BJP this time.

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The other important thing, Gadkari said, is that the double engine government under Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Yogi, has given excellent developmental projects to the poll-bound state.

“As far as road infra is concerned, I have already promised people of UP that we will make roads of UP within 5 years up to the US standard. I always tell people about the statement of US president John Kennedy that American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good. So from the road, the prosperity will come and that is going to develop UP, bring more employment potential, per capita income and GDP,” the Union Minister said

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“In the agricultural field, the majority of farmers in UP grow sugarcane and due to biofuel and ethanol policy, presently the sugar mills are now economically viable and that is the reason why with the support of the government, the farmers are getting money from sugarcane which was delayed earlier. Over Rs One lakh crore rupees have been given to the farmers from the sugar mills which is a very big achievement,” he added.

The Minister said BJP was working with nationalism at the heart of its ideology.``The politics for progress and development is the most important politics for the BJP. As far as our ideology is concerned, nationalism is the heart of it. Second important agenda is good governance, and third is Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s thinking of antyodaya - the last man of the society who is socially, economically, educationally backward, we always think that he is God for us and we want to work for him,” Gadkari said in response to a question on a series of OBC leaders from the party defecting to Samajwadi Party (SP).

Also, read : In-Depth | Battle for Jatland: How the poll contest is stacked up in west UP

“We do want to play politics on the basis of caste, creed, sex and particular religion. We want to play politics for progress and development. Social equality and economic equality is the mission for us. We don’t want to discriminate against anybody on any basis. And that is the reason our politics is Sabka saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka prayas and the welfare of gaon, garib, mazdoor, kisan is our agenda,” he said accusing other parties of discriminating voters based on caste, creed, religion and language basis.

“For the past 50 years, nothing happened in UP but since 2014, we have transformed UP into a new and progressive state,” he said.