Shahjahanpur (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday used a new coinage UPYOGI or 'UP plus Yogi bahut hai upyogi' to praise Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for "eliminating" mafias and undertaking a lot of developmental work in the state. Opposition SP and BSP, however, questioned this effusiveness with Akhilesh Yadav saying the present Uttar Pradesh is not 'upyogi' (of great utility) but un-upyogi.
Addressing a rally after laying the foundation stone of the 594-km-long Ganga Expressway in this Uttar Pradesh district, Modi also said poor law and order led to exodus of people from Uttar Pradesh earlier, but during the past four and half years bulldozers have razed unauthorised properties of mafias, causing pain to those patronising them.
"UP plus Yogi bahut hai upyogi" (Uttar Pradesh plus Yogi have great utility), he said, expanding U.P.Y.O.G.I.
Taking a swipe at Modi's new punchline, Yadav mentioned the Hathras rape-cum-murder of a Dalit girl and killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri to dub the present regime being "unupyogi" (useless) for the state.
In a tweet in Hindi, Yadav said "The daughter of Hathras, the farmers of Lakhimpur, the trader of Gorakhpur, women who are feeling insecured, unemployed youth, the Dalits and the backward class (people) are saying...for UP, the current government is not useful, it is useless". "People of UP are saying that if someone is "up-yogi" (deputy-yogi), then who is the "mukhya yogi (main yogi)," he wryly said, adding "UP is today saying that it does not want the BJP."
Reacting to the Income Tax raid at residence of SP's national secretary Rajiv Rai, Akhilesh Yadav said that Rai is being targeted because the BJP is scared of losing the UP elections next year.
"I have told you before, too… Till now, I-T people have come. In the coming days, the ED and the CBI will come along with other agencies. Conspiracies will be spread, but the BJP will be cleaned from Uttar Pradesh. Rajiv Rai is a spokesperson of the party. He works hard to strengthen the party. Why was his house raided before the election? If they had information, they should have done the raid earlier. As the elections have come close, this Department has also come to fight elections in UP," Yadav said during a press conference in Raebareli before starting his 'Vijay Yatra'.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati too contested the BJP taking credit for foundation laying of Ganga Expressway.
In a tweet in Hindi, she said the BSP government had planned an 8-lane Ganga Expressway from Noida to Ballia, which would link the Delhi directly to Purvanchal (region of Uttar Pradesh).
Mayawati was the chief minister from 2007 to 2012.
In his speech. Modi said, "You are well versed with the situation here and the law-and-order situation in western Uttar Pradesh before the Yogi Adityanath government came. In the earlier days, as the sun set, people flashing 'katta' (country-made pistols) used to come on the streets to make the lives of people hell," adding the "culture of katta" has ended now under the Adityanath government.
The BJP has already declared that Adityanath will be its face in the upcoming polls in the political heartland of the country. Hailing the state government's action against mafias, he said "Aaj jab mafia par bulldozer chalta hai...bulldozer to gair kanooni imaraat par chalta hai...par dard usko 'palne-posne' wale ko hota hai" (today when bulldozers raze unauthorised properties of mafias, the pain is felt by those patronising them).
Intensifying his attack on the opposition ahead of the crucial assembly elections, Modi said, "There are some political parties, which have problems with the country's heritage and development. They have problems with the heritage, as they are more bothered about their vote bank.
They have problems with development, as the dependence of the poor and common man on them is reducing day by day." "These people have problems with cleaning of river Ganga. These are the people who raise questions on the action of the Army on terrorists.