With just four days to go for the first phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday attacked the Samajwadi Party and its allies, urging people to keep “fake socialists” away from power.
Modi talked up the BJP government’s record in development and welfare initiatives and accused the previous administrations of creating fear among the people, making false promises to farmers and delaying payments to growers of sugarcane.
Modi was virtually addressing voters from the 21 Assembly seats of Mathura, Agra and Bulandshahr districts. These seats go to the polls in the first phase on February 10.
“In five years, the Yogi Adityanath government has made payments of Rs 1.5 lakh crore to farmers. This is far greater than the payments made during 10 years of previous governments (SP and BSP),” said Modi.
Highlighting welfare and development schemes in Uttar Pradesh in the past five years, the PM said: “UP chahe asardar sarkar, fir ek baar Yogi sarkar (UP wants an effective government, Yogi Adityanath government once again).”
“The people of Uttar Pradesh won’t support the politics of money, muscle, caste, communalism and nepotism. They have decided that the biggest issue in the current elections is the UP’s development — rapid development,” the PM said.
He added that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has proven in the past five years that only BJP and its double engine government can develop UP, calling on people to “keep nakli Samajwadis out of power”.
Attacking Opposition leaders who toured Mathura in recent months, Modi said: “Those showing devotion for Lord Krishna ahead of elections had forgotten areas like Vrindavan, Barsana, Goverdhan, Baldev and Nandgaon when they were in power. After seeing the public support for the BJP, they have started dreaming of Lord Krishna.”
The Prime Minister said that those who ruled in the state earlier had no concern for faith, necessities and development. “They had a single agenda—UP ko looto, (loot the state)” PM said. “Isliye aaj woh Yogi ji ko, BJP sarkar ko paani pi- pi kar kos rahe hain (They are cursing Yogi and the BJP government)”.
He also targeted previous governments over law and order, saying criminals would loot people on highways without fear. “What happened to women and daughters on the highway, the people of Bulandshahr know very well. Illegal grabbing on shops and houses was very common that time,” he said. “Girls in UP used to be scared. But under the BJP government, criminals are trembling with fear”
The Prime Minister began his speech by paying tribute to singer Lata Mangeshkar who died in Mumbai on Sunday.
He said he joined the virtual rally because preparations were already made in Mathura, Agra and Bulandshahr, and people were waiting for him. “Yeh bhi loktantra ka ek aisa daitva hai jinki apeksha hamesha Lata didi ne mujhse ki thi (This, too, is a responsibility in democracy that Lata didi had expected from me),” he said.
The BJP Sunday also postponed the release of its UP poll manifesto following Mangeshkar’s death.