Criminals in Uttar Pradesh walked around with their heads held high but now they hang placards around their necks begging for their lives, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday while campaigning for the urban local body elections.
Adityanath addressed elections rallies in Unnao and Rae Bareli ahead of the polls, scheduled to take place in two phases on May 4 and May 11.
Addressing an election rally in Rae Bareli, Adityanath said, "BJP ki ek hi yukti, pradesh ko dilai mafia se mukti (The BJP has only one solution which has rid the sate of criminals)'. The mafia are begging for mercy to lead regular lives and earn livelihood by honest means due to zero tolerance against crime."
He also took a dig at the previous regimes, saying people associated with a particular party would brandish country-made pistols while the youths now are working on smartphones and tablets.
Adityanath was referring to the Uttar Pradesh government's drive to distribute tablets and smartphones free of cost to one crore undergraduate and postgraduate students as part of a push to the link the state's youths with the Digital India campaign.
Addressing another rally in Unnao, Adityanath said, "Before 2017, traders were exploited and extorted. Today, they are benefitting from the PM SVANidhi scheme. Prior to 2017, there was terror of miscreants while today, cities are being made safe.
"Earlier, there were heaps of garbage but cities are becoming smart today. Now, there is no place for mafia-criminals, crime, corruption and corrupt people in Uttar Pradesh."
The BJP defeated the Samajwadi Party to form the government in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. Adityanath became the chief minister for the second consecutive term after assembly polls last year, a feat achieved in India's most populous state after over three decades.
Speaking in Unnao, he said, "This is the new Uttar Pradesh. Government facilities are being given as per eligibility. We consider every citizen of Uttar Pradesh to be a member of our family, so no one can claim that there was caste or religious discrimination."
"No extortions or kidnappings for ransom, Uttar Pradesh is no longer anyone's fiefdom," the chief minister said.
He also criticised the previous regimes for creating law and order problems that prevented girls from going to school.
"(Earlier) the youths faced an identity crisis. The nation's reputation suffered and scams became prevalent. The perception of India has changed since 2014. People now look at the youth of India with respect. Today, India is making progress in every field," Adityanath said.
Adityanath said India has transformed in the last nine years and that transformation has become the centre of attraction for the world. The dream of 140 crore people in India is being fulfilled without any discrimination under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Similarly, there has been a change in how Uttar Pradesh is perceived inside India in the last six years, he added.
In the last six years, the "double engine government" has provided a house each to more than 54 lakh poor people in rural and urban areas while toilets have been built for 2.61 crore underprivileged.
Adityanath said the civic elections are not a small matter and are meant to add a "third engine" to the existing "double engine government" of the BJP in the state to accelerate its development.
The prime minister's vision is the mission of Uttar Pradesh, he said. The Ganga Expressway is being constructed to connect western Uttar Pradesh with the state's central and eastern parts and will benefit the people of Unnao, the chief minister said.
The expressway will allow people to travel to Delhi in six hours and Prayagraj in two, he added.
Unnao and Rae Bareli will go to the polls in the first phase on May 4. The votes will be counted on May 13.
The elections are seen as setting the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 lawmakers to Parliament.
-With PTI Input
