UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath hit the campaign trail in poll-bound Gujarat. (File)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Yogi Adityanath on Monday hit the campaign trail in poll-bound Gujarat and said the time has come to realise Mahatma Gandhi's dream of disbanding the Indian National Congress.
Addressing a poll rally in Porbandar, the home town of the Father of the Nation, Mr Yogi alleged the Congress would have usurped the funds meant for the treatment and vaccine during the coronavirus pandemic had it been in power.
The elections for 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8.
"The BJP always keeps its promises, unlike Congress. Congress never stands with the people during crises. That is the reason Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) had suggested that the party should be disbanded once India attains Independence," said Mr Yogi, one of the star campaigners of BJP, while canvassing for the party candidate Babubhai Bokhiria.
"The time has come to realise the dream of Bapu (of disbanding Congress)", he said.
Out of the total 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, Congress is present only in two seats, Mr Yogi said. "One would need four persons to lift the bier. But they don't even have the four," he added.
Attacking the Opposition party, he said, "Congress would have usurped the funds meant for treatment and vaccine had the party been in power during the coronavirus pandemic".
Without taking names, Mr Yogi said a "brother-sister duo" always leaves India in times of crisis and goes to their maternal grandparent's house in Italy.
Mr Yogi said an atmosphere of mistrust prevailed in the country due to the corrupt regime before Narendra Modi assumed the office of the prime minister in 2014.
"People had started doubting politics. India's reputation hit rock bottom in the world. Terrorism and Naxalite incidents were rampant. When people came on roads to remove such a power-hungry regime, Modi came from Gujarat to lead the country," he said.
Before safeguarding India, Modi had secured Gujarat from terror attacks and frequent communal riots as the chief minister, Mr Yogi said.
He said PM Modi steered India's economy to the fifth position in the world overtaking England which had once ruled India.
"Today, no terror outfit dares to enter India to carry out any terror incident. The removal of Article 370 (granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir) was the last nail in the coffin of terrorists," Mr Yogi added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)