Giving the people of Amethi and Prayagraj a crash course on the dangers of nepotistic rule and appeasement politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that after four rounds of the ongoing Assembly polls, it was clear that the people of Uttar Pradesh stood consolidated behind the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "When the Opposition starts blaming EVMs (electronic voting machine), you know there is no need to wait for the exit polls," he said.
Addressing a rally in Amethi, Mr. Modi said that those who thought they would be able to divide people and make them forget the national interest and the interests of the State would get a reality check on March 10.
In Prayagraj, Mr. Modi once again brought current concerns in international affairs to the U.P. polls. “In the changed global scenario, you need a strong national government, which is not possible without a strong government in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
Referring to projects along the Kashi-Vishwanath Corridor, and in Prayagraj and Kedarnath, Mr. Modi said it was strange that some people saw the development of pilgrimage centres through the communal lens. "This is not done when it comes to Mecca and the Vatican, which have world-class amenities," he remarked.
Presenting the BJP as a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Mr. Modi, in the company of alliance partners Sanjay Nishad and Anupriya Patel, said, the BJP believed in the progress of “ sarva samaj” (society for all).
Striking an emotional chord with the electorate, Mr. Modi, without taking the name of the Samajwadi Party (SP), charged the Opposition with politicising the vaccination programme during the pandemic. “They called it the ‘BJP vaccine’ to mislead the people. Modi waited for his turn to get the jab. We gave priority to frontline workers and senior citizens with comorbidities,” the PM said. He said even his aged mother did not break any queue to get favourable treatment. “She is 100 years old but as she doesn’t have any comorbidity. She waited for her turn to get the booster dose. Could you expect something similar from these p arivarvadi people?” he asked.
He charged the Congress with starting the trend of cronyism and took on the SP for blindly following the pattern set by the Congress.
Referring to the recent court verdict on the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts, Mr. Modi said some parties were silent on the verdict because it could antagonise their vote bank. “Those who indulge in vote bank politics at the cost of the interests of a large section of society are enemies of humanity. They compromise even on issues of national interest because they constantly live under the fear that if they say something, it could antagonise their vote bank,” he said.
Earlier, Mr. Modi said it was for the first time that in U.P. an elected government was asking for votes in the name of work done for the poor and for improvement in law and order. “It is for the first time in decades that an elected government didn’t have to defend corruption charges and nepotism,” he said.
Pointing out that the BJP stood by its promises, Mr. Modi said February 24 was a significant date because it was on this day in 2019 that the Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme was launched. “Our opponents had described it as an election gimmick but the scheme continues to provide support to small farmers,” he said. Be it providing free gas connections or free housing to the poor, Mr. Modi said his government’s schemes didn’t differentiate among people on the basis of caste and religion. “Had it been a parivarvadi government, the benefits would have been shared by members of one family and their cronies,” he alleged.
SP also claims mandate
Meanwhile, addressing a rally in Allahabad, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “After four rounds, people have given us the mandate. Now, it’s time to make it historic.” He said the U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath might have changed the name of Allahabad but he had brought a bad name to the historic city. “We have seen how dead bodies floated in the Ganga during the second wave of the pandemic. Not to forget the Kumbh scam and the lathi charge on youth asking for jobs,” Mr. Yadav said.
The former U.P. CM added that migrants who returned to the region from different parts of the country were voting for the SP as the BJP government was found to be missing during the pandemic. Mr. Yadav also linked rampant privatisation during the BJP rule to the reservation policy. “The privatisation of jobs would eat into the quota of the underprivileged,” he said.
