Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that the double engine government of the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is realising Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya's dream of welfare and development of the person occupying the last rung of the society.
Paying glowing tributes to Pt Upadhyaya, the pioneer of "Antyodaya" and "Integral Humanism", on his 55th death anniversary at an event organised at the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Smritika Park in Lucknow, Adityanath said that a man of such virtues was a victim of a conspiracy in the independent India. The Chief Minister also garlanded the statue of Pt Upadhyaya, who was one of the founding leaders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh which later morphed into the BJP, and was its president when he was killed under mysterious circumstances during a train journey in 1968 in an alleged robbery bid.
"Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya was a beacon of light who talked about Antyodaya and who had made the welfare of the person sitting in the last row the agenda of political thinking. The effect of his thinking is visible today. Today, the world is witnessing the power of integral humanism," he remarked. Adityanath said that the double engine government led by Prime Minister Modi is converting Pandit Upadhyaya's dream of 'Antyodaya' into 'Rashtrodaya' with full commitment and honesty.
"For the first time, every eligible person is getting toilet, housing, and Ujjwala connection without any discrimination on the basis of religion, region and language. Electricity is being distributed without any discrimination. Eighty crore people of the country are getting free ration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 220 crore doses of vaccine were given to people free of cost," he said. He added that under the inspiration of Pt Upadhyaya and under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP is also running many public welfare programs in the state.
The government is working with commitment and honesty for public welfare, Adityanath said, adding that jobs in Uttar Pradesh are being given today on the basis of merit only, without any discrimination. The Chief Minister further pointed out that when the whole world was troubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, the double engine government presented a model of management and public welfare, by managing to control the pandemic, and also protecting people from starvation.
Adityanath said that inspired by great men like Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, the BJP gave the mantra of 'Seva Hi Sangathan' during the pandemic, which implies that serving the country and its people selflessly is the supreme virtue. This realisation in the political class also instills confidence in the citizens of the country and in the absence of such thinking, political parties are incapable of thinking about the welfare of people.
UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, Union Minister Kaushal Kishore, former minister Ashutosh Tandon, MLA Rajeshwar Singh and many public representatives and BJP officials and workers were also present at the occasion, the UP government said in a statement.