PRAYAGRAJ/JHANSI (UP), May 2 (PTI): Addressing an election meeting on what once was the home turf of slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday appeared to invoke nature as a great leveller — a force that delivers justice.
“Some people had turned Prayagraj, where people suffering from injustice and atrocities come with a desire for justice, into a land of injustice and atrocities,” Adityanath said addressing a meeting in the former Samajwadi Party MLA’s Allahabad West constituency.
“But this nature doesn’t commit an atrocity on anyone, nor does it accept an atrocity. It settles scores for everyone,” he said, without naming anyone.
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Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three men, who posed as media persons, when they were being taken to a Prayagraj hospital for medical checkup under police escort on April 15. Ahmad was among those accused of killing Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal.
Umesh Pal was shot dead, along with his two security guards, outside his home in Dhoomanganj area of Prayagraj in broad daylight on February 24. The shootout had raised serious questions on law and order in Uttar Pradesh and Adityanath had vowed in the assembly to “destroy” the mafia in the state.
At his public meetings, he stressed on improvement in law and order during the term of the BJP government in the state.
On Tuesday, the last day of campaigning for the first phase of urban local body polls, the chief minister said, “It’s the same Uttar Pradesh where festivals were celebrated in the shadow of fear and terror. But today festivals bring prosperity. Today there is no curfew, no riots in the state.”
“Today, there is no terror of eve teasers in cities. Today, our cities are becoming safe cities. Girls can go to school safely, businessmen can do business. Today, the youth do not have ‘tamancha’ (country-made pistols) in their hands, they have tablets,” he said.
He said those who used to grab properties of the poor and extorted money from traders have been forced to surrender to the law. “Today, the state traders welfare board is giving a security insurance of Rs 10 lakh to traders.”
Adityanath said his government has focused on empowerment of people rather than appeasement. “Everyone has developed in our government,” he said.
“Today, Uttar Pradesh is moving beyond the dynasty-based and casteist-minded parties with a thought of nationalism. UP is scaling new heights of development now.”
The chief minister was campaigning for BJP mayoral candidate Umesh Chandra Ganesh Kesarwani at the Leaders Press Ground. Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, several other ministers in the UP government and BJP MPs and MLAs were present during the election meeting.
Later, at an election meeting in Jhansi, Adityanath said his government will keep cracking down on criminals. “We will not disturb any poor or a gentleman, but we will not let any criminal walk freely in the state,” he asserted. “There is no terror of miscreants in our cities now, rather they have been recognised as ‘safe cities’.”
Criticising those who ruled Uttar Pradesh previously, he said, “After independence, Bundelkhand was to participate in the development process, but the people in power never gave development any thought. Instead, their henchmen did not think twice before plundering Bundelkhand’s resources.”
Because of this, people were forced to migrate and youth became unemployed in Bundelkhand, he said.
“Modi ji gave a vision of development. He laid the foundation stone of a massive plant of Bharat Dynamics in this region and the work on the Defence Corridor is also going on, which will employ thousands of young people,” he said.
“The prime minister has dedicated the Bundelkhand Expressway, which has become the lifeline of Bundelkhand, and soon the government is going to start its Jhansi link,” Adityanath said.
He also said the government has announced Rs 6,000 crore for constituting the Jhansi Bundelkhand Industrial Development Authority (JBIDA). “Now the youth of Bundelkhand will not need to migrate to other cities as they will get employment here itself,” he said.
The chief minister also said a sound-and-light show is organised at Jhansi Fort on the life of Rani Laxmibai, the brave ruler of the princely state of Jhansi, and the First War of Independence in 1857.
Prayagraj and Jhansi will vote on May 4 in the first phase. The second phase of the urban local body polls will be held on May 11 and the counting of votes will be done on May 13.
