Previous UP Governments Encouraged Rioters: Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday attacked the previous governments and alleged that they encouraged rioters in the state.

He alleged that the previous dispensations only worked for themselves and that was the reason the state of Uttar Pradesh lagged behind.

Addressing the "Samajik Pratinidhi Sammelan" organised by the BJP's Pichhdha Morcha, Mr Adityanath said, "The BJP believes in the ideology of nationalism and its main mantra is wishing for happiness and wellness of everyone".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the mantra of sabka saath, sabka nikaas. Before 2014, the slogan of the then government was "sabka saath, lekin parivaar ka vikaas"," he said.

Mr Adityanath said, "They (opposition parties) did not bother to think about society and nation. This was the reason that the state (UP) was lagging behind, and it was thrown into the fire of riots."

He said the previous governments imposed curfews on important occasions and encouraged rioters.

"When there were festivals, when it was time to honour faith, when it was the time for business, curfew used to be imposed because the nature of the previous governments was itself that of riots, and they used to encourage rioters. The entire state was affected by riots," he said, addressing the members of the "Kumhar" community.

The chief minister said not a single riot has taken place in the state in the last over four years.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party came together in 2019 "like a snake and a mongoose" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "But thanks to your alertness, they were not able to stop Modi from becoming the prime minister."

He raised the slogan ''pichhdhe varg kee jimmedaari, UP mein BJP kee doosree paaree'' (the responsibility of the backward section is that the BJP should have a second innings).

Urging the audience to remain alert of "vote-katwas" (smaller parties cutting votes of bigger political parties), Mr Maurya said, "A number of smaller parties will be in the election this time. Those are not political parties, but sponsored by some of the opposition parties, formed on the caste lines. These parties will go to a specific community, and they will try to cut about 1,000-2,000 votes."

UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh also spoke on the occasion.