The thought process of the rival parties is dirty and their intention is dangerous, Yogi Adityanath said
Hitting out at the Opposition, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday alleged that "division is in the DNA" of these parties and they are trying to create a rift in society on caste and community lines.
Addressing a virtual meeting of the BJP's office-bearers as part of preparations for assembly by-election to Deoria Sadar assembly constituency, he alleged that due the development activities undertaken under the BJP rule, the opposition parties were frustrated and were using "every trick" to defame his government.
By-elections will be held to seven Assembly seats, including Deoria, in Uttar Pradesh on November 3. Six of the seats were held by the ruling BJP and one by the SP.
"The thought process of the rival parties is dirty and their intention is dangerous."
"Division is in their DNA. It was due to this thought process that they first divided the country, and are now attempting to divide the society on the basis of caste, community and region. For them, the interest of their clan is of utmost importance, while everything else is secondary," Yogi Adityanath said, targeting the Congress and other rival parties.
Raising the issue of development under the BJP, he said that "the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which have ruled the state for 15 years, have only corruption and anarchy to count as their achievement.
"From time-to-time, these parties have throttled democracy and the Constitution. Their development was confined only to slogans and speeches."
The BJP leader said that the "actual development" started six years ago with the formation of the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Owing to all-round development, the popularity of BJP is continuously rising, and there is a feeling of positivity in the public.
"In this case, the unhappiness of these (opposition) parties has transformed into frustration. As a result, they are trying to resort to every trick to defame the government. However, their intentions will never be fulfilled," he said.
Referring to the problem of encephalitis, the UP chief minister said that from 1977 to 2017, the disease had claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people, most of them children.
"No one had ever raised their voice. In a span of only three years, we are on the way towards eradication of encephalitis," he asserted.
Referring to Deoria, Yogi Adityanath said, "The sacred land of Devraha Baba was known as the sugar bowl. The economy of the area was based on sugarcane. Ask them why in their tenure one after another sugar mills wee old at throwaway prices."
Devraha Baba, who died on June 19, 1990, was a revered ascetic who lived beside the Yamuna river in Mathura. He was known as "ageless Yogi".
UP BJP chief Swatantradev Singh also addressed party workers, a statement issued by the UP BJP said.
The seven Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls will be held on November 3 include Naugaon which fell vacant after the death of minister Chetan Chauhan.
The by-election was necessitated in Ghatampur (Kanpur) as sitting MLA and minister Kamal Rani Varun died, while in Tundla (Firozabad) the sitting MLA, SP Singh Baghel, got elected to Lok Sabha.
The Bangarmau (Unnao) seat fell vacant following the conviction of Kuldeep Singh Sengar.
The seats of Bulandshahr, Deoria and Malhani will have by-election due to the demise of sitting MLAs Virendra Singh Sirohi, Janmejay Singh and Parasnath Yadav (SP).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)