PM Narendra Modi (File image)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 31 while speaking in a virtual rally of BJP supporters said that the Opposition parties are aiming for power in Uttar Pradesh, by all means, to seek 'revenge' from people for electing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the last assembly elections.
The Prime Minister said that Yogi Adityanath-led double engine government had ensured ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ in the state besides teaching the meaning of the law to the "mafias and goons" who were in power before 2017, in an indirect reference to Akhilesh Yadav-led dispensation between 2012 and 2017.
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"We (BJP government) are working hard to bring about a change in Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, they are looking for an opportunity to seek revenge from you (public). Seeking revenge is their ideology" PM Narendra Modi said while virtually addressing 21 assembly constituencies spread across five districts of poll-bound western Uttar Pradesh.
Though the Prime Minister did not take any names, his statement is being referred to a recent video of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Adil Chaudhary in which he was purportedly heard as saying that not a single person will be spared when the party is voted to power in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya had shared the video on Twitter on January 25.
क्या अखिलेश ने नाहिद हसन, आदिल चौधरी जैसे हिंदू विरोधी गुंडो को ही टिकट दिया है? pic.twitter.com/37odJVVCRa
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 25, 2022
Prime Minister Modi's rally was broadcast in 21 assembly constituencies spread across five districts of western Uttar Pradesh going to polls in the first of the seven-phase polling beginning February 10. The districts that the rally covered included Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, and Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida).
The PM said Yogi Adityanath government ensured an end to mafia raj, exodus and made UP riot free in last five years. He also said that the illegal occupation of homes, land, and shops of the poor, Dalits, backward, and the downtrodden was a sign of socialism five years ago, in a direct reference to Samajwadi Party.
"Five years ago, strongmen and rioters used to run the show in UP. Their words were treated as government orders. People of western UP can never forget that when this region was burning in riots, the then Govt was celebrating," the PM said showering praises on Yogi Adityanath by calling him a leader who is always awake.
The BJP is pitted against the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal (SP-RLD) alliance in western Uttar Pradesh.
"Five years ago, there was news of the migration of people every other day. Abduction and demand for ransom had ruined the lives of the middle-class and traders. The Yogi government has brought the state out of these situations in the last 5 years," the PM said urging voters, especially first-timers to re-elect the BJP government in the state.
The BJP had shared the link of the rally with local residents and virtual rally studios were set up in the constituencies. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma joined the virtual rally from studios in Agra and Lucknow
"Before 2017, the law and order situation was a challenge in the Assembly constituencies voting in the first & second phases of Assembly elections. Now, there is a good environment of safety and security in these areas and girls are safe," Adityanath said.
Arrangements for the screening of the rally at 7,878 booths in 98 places. As many as 49,000 people were expected to listen to this virtual address, including booth presidents, panna pramukhs or people in charge of voters' list, and the beneficiaries of government schemes, according to an estimate.
The Election Commission (EC) had banned physical rallies and road shows in the elections, allowing virtual and door-to-door campaigns considering spike in COVID-19 cases. The ban will be reviewed today.
