Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is confident about BJP getting 350 plus seats in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election scheduled next year.
As the ground scenario and initial surveys suggest the return of the Yogi Raj, CM Yogi said that any attempt of communal polarisation by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav who now invokes Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and election tourism of Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won’t help them to gain ground in UP.
Yogi Adityanath said that the development of UP and better law-and-order remained his priority and he doesn’t see any challenger around him.
In an interview given to News18.com Yogi Adityanath said that he is confident about the BJP repeating historic victory in UP because of the work done by his government.
UP no more a Bimaru state now known for the development
Yogi is indifferent to the legend that no party in UP has returned to power for the second consecutive term. He said that the voters of UP would bless the BJP for the second consecutive term as his government fulfilled every promise made during the 2017 assembly election.
He said that UP has shed the tag of ‘Bimaru’ state and is now known for its development across sectors. He said that UP plays a pivotal role in making India a global economic superpower.
Taking about his tenure, Yogi said that for the past four-and-a-half years, his government worked for the betterment of the state and its 24 crore citizens. The government has taken care of every section of the society including farmers, women and the poorest of the poor.
He reminded in 2017 his government had waived farm loans worth Rs 36,000 crore under the waiver scheme. This benefitted around 21 million farmers of UP.
“The work we have done for our state and our people is what gives us confidence that the BJP will win 350 seats in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election,” Yogi Adityanath said.
Change of face of UP through Reform, Perform and Transform
Yogi said that right after in 2017 he took charge of UP, his government focussed on ‘Reform, Perform and Transform’ that globally changed people’s perception about UP.
The state gained the confidence of industrialists and investors as the law-and-order situation was improved. The BJP government made stringent laws and came down heavily upon the crime syndicates which previously harassed industrialists.
Yogi pointed out that due to stringent laws and improved law-and-order situation a positive environment was created for business activities. And this is the reason that global brands like Samsung, Reliance, Microsoft among others, are moving to UP to set up industries.
In the last four-and-a-half years, UP has attracted investment of almost Rs 11 lakh crore across sectors, out of which almost Rs 5 lakh crore is in the heavy industries and another Rs 5 lakh crore in the MSME sector. It has ensured jobs for more than 3 million youth in UP.
A ‘Naya Uttar Pradesh’ under Yogi Raj
Yogi said that in terms of ease of doing business, UP has made a quantum leap. Among the states, it is now at the second position by making an amazing jump of 12 positions in the last four-and-a-half years.
Yogi said that even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic activities of UP did not stop. Even during the pandemic UP received investment proposals worth Rs 66,000 crore. UP has now become the second-largest state of India in terms of Gross State Domestic Product. According to the report of the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy, the unemployment rate of UP is now 4.8 per cent which is far better when compared with Delhi, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
UP such a big state had only a dozen medical colleges before 2017. Yogi said that UP is on the way to creating a new record with medical colleges coming up in every district. Nine new medical colleges are already operational. Foundation stone for 14 more has been laid and 16 are in the process of being set up in PPP mode.
Yogi on his bulldozer remark
In Yogi Raj bulldozer is seen as an instrument to assert the authority of the law and to protect land properties of law-abiding citizens as well as government properties from mafias. He had said in public that bulldozer is the only treatment (answer) for those who capture government properties as well as innocent civilians. Akhilesh Yadav has long been criticising and mocking the Yogi government even at a personal level for the use of a bulldozer.
Yogi said that Akhilesh Yadav has a problem with the bulldozer out of his (Akhilesh) sympathy and support to criminals, gangsters and mafias who harassed the poor and grabbed land. He said that the previous government had different priorities and always supported mafias to save his chair.
Yogi said that his government uses bulldozers against the corrupt, criminals and gangsters whereas Akhilesh Yadav had given a free hand to criminals who harassed poor, industrialists and businessmen.
UP faced consequences of such lawlessness as investors and industrialists withdrew, per capita income and growth rate kept dropping with rising unemployment rate. Prior to 2017, the unemployment rate of UP was above 18 percent.
The situation has turned 360 degrees now
“Things are different now as we have turned the situation 360 degrees,” said Yogi as his government took tough action against the mafias as part of zero tolerance policy.
Yogi said since the Samajwadi Party didn’t do anything, Akhilesh Yadav and his party are trying to protect the mafias to get their support.
No place for mafias in UP representing Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat
Yogi minces no word that his government has taken actions against mafias and even didn’t hesitate to act against alleged powerful mafias and leaders like Mukhtar Ansari and Azam Khan. The message is loud enough to be heard that mafias will not be spared.
Yogi responds to Akhilesh’s allegation on Purvanchal Expressway
As Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the Yogi government only carried forward projects of the previous government, Yogi said Akhilesh Yadav did a stunt on the name of development.
“Sanctioning token amounts for a project two months prior to the elections and not approving the tender and leaving the project halfway doesn’t merit any claim to their point,” he said.
Yogi informed that his government carried a fresh appraisal of the Purvanchal Expressway project which is India’s longest expressway network of approximately 1,321 km. The cost of the project was brought down via a new tender and executed the project within the time frame.
Road network and transport
Yogi government won appreciation for overall development including improvement in the road network. The 341 km stretch of Purvanchal Expressway has become operational. The government is building three more highways namely the 296 km Bundelkhand Expressway, 91 km Gorakhpur Link Expressway and 594 km Ganga Expressway.
UDAN scheme of the central government four Metros and nine airports have been completed. “Work is in progress on 28 other airports,” he said.
Special scheme for developmental of Purvanchal
Purvanchal is a geographic sub-region of Uttar Pradesh that roughly covers 17 districts of UP where the BJP is in a strong position. However, after Om Prakash Rajbhar joined hands with Akhilesh Yadav some political experts claimed that it would come as a setback for the BJP.
But Yogi dismissed such apprehensions and said that people hardly trust a blackmailer like Rajbhar who believes Jinnah deserved to become PM of India.
He said that the people of Purvanchal always want development and the previous government neglected this region. But the BJP government has done a tremendous job when it comes to development of Purvanchal.
For instance, the health infrastructure was improved to control Japanese Encephalitis that caused the death of thousands of children every year. AIIMS has been established in Gorakhpur which has benefitted the entire Purvanchal region. Besides, the Purvanchal Expressway will bring development.
UP’s Covid-19 management and vaccination drive globally acclaimed
Even if the Congress and the Samajwadi Party have shot aimlessly and baselessly on Yogi for poor Covid management, UP is getting global appreciation for Covid-19 management. In terms of testing and vaccination, UP is in the top position in India, he said.
Yogi said that his government has set a target to administer the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to 100 per cent eligible beneficiaries by the third week of December. To achieve this, a target of administering 15 to 20 lakh doses has been set for every day and vaccination work will continue till 10 pm in every district.
He reminded how opposition leaders, including Akhilesh Yadav MP from Azamgarh, did not visit any place or family during the entire Covid-19 pandemic. He criticised Akhilesh Yadav is putting the lives of others in peril by not taking the vaccine.
Nobody will be spared in Lakhimpur Kheri firing incident
During the course of the farmers’ protest, eight people died after BJP workers were attacked by protesting farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri of Uttar Pradesh. Yogi called the incident unfortunate and said instructed police to bring to justice those responsible for the same.
Yogi said that government would never shield anyone. Within 24 hours of the incident, the government quickly defused the situation. A Special Investigative Team (SIT) was formed and the Supreme Court appointed a retired justice of the High Court to monitor the situation. Besides, the government also compensated the families of all those who died in the incident.
