Modi who was scheduled to address his first hybrid rally - both physical and virtual - but could not visit Bijnor due to inclement weather and ultimately addressed the rally digitally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused rivals of wrongfully claiming the legacy of farm leader Chaudhary Charan Singh and stopping the "river of development" when they were in power in Uttar Pradesh. Addressing a virtual rally for three western UP districts -- Bijnor, Moradabad and Amroha -- PM Modi urged farmers to ask those trying to "mislead" them how much electricity was given to the villages in their area when they were in power.
Modi who was scheduled to address his first hybrid rally - both physical and virtual - but could not visit Bijnor due to inclement weather and ultimately addressed the rally digitally. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended the rally in Bijnor physically and addressed the people. SP and its ally RLD have been claiming the legacy of "farmers' PM" (Chaudhary Charan Singh) during the run up to the UP Assembly polls. Rashtriya Lok Dal is presently headed by Jayant Chaudhary, grandson of Charan Singh.
"I would like to remind the farmers, and the entire west UP, of one more thing. Today, people who are trying to mislead you, ask them that when they were in power, how much electricity was given to this area and to your villages? The government at the Centre and the BJP government of UP is committed to bring back the honour and rights of the farmer brothers", Modi said. In the past five years, payment of more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore have been made to the sugarcane farmers. This was not done during the previous two governments put together, he said.
During previous governments, urea, meant for farmers, used to go to the people who indulged in black marketing. "We have re-started the Gorakhpur Fertiliser Plant, which was closed for years. The neem-coated urea, which is produced there, will benefit the farmers in the entire state," Modi said.
The prime minister said, "You will be surprised to know that the Yogi Adiyanath government has purchased at MSP more than double the wheat as compared to that purchased by the previous dispensations. The Yogi government has made a record every year in terms of purchasing foodgrains." The three districts, comprising 18 assembly seats, are scheduled to vote during the second phase on February 14. The region is dominated by farmers and sugarcane is grown in bulk there.
"In the coming 25 years, when the country will complete 100 years of its Independence, UP should wave its flag with the golden tales of development," Modi said. Referring to a poem of famous poet Dushyant Kumar who hailed from the region, Modi took a dig at previous governments in UP, saying the "river of development" had stopped in Uttar Pradesh before 2017 due to the dynastic approach of "fake samajwadis'. He praised the Yogi Adityanath government for developing all regions of the state equally without any discrimination. "The model of the previous governments was to create problems, and then gobble up everything in the name of sympathy. The farmers, youth, poor, Dalit and oppressed were troubled by this model," he said.
With PTI Inputs