Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made the comments at an election rally. (File)
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said the party was opposing the abrogation of Article 370, which was a "blot" on Kashmir, and that no person with self-respect would take up its membership.
"The Congress is opposing the abrogation of Article 370, which was a blot on Kashmir. Under such circumstances, no person with self-respect will accept the membership of the Congress," Yogi Adityanath said at a rally in Pratapgarh.
On the occasion, he also welcomed former Congress leader Ratna Singh and her supporters, who joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The chief minister addressed rallies in Pratapgarh, Chitrakoot and Kanpur in support of the BJP candidates for the October 21 Assembly bypolls.
He appealed to people to vote for the BJP and said the Samajwadi Party, BSP and others had done politics of caste and religion and promoted nepotism. "Development and good governance are not on the agenda of these parties. It is wrong to expect development measures from them," he said.
Addressing a rally in Chitrakoot, Yogi Adityanath said, "For the last 15 years, the SP, the BSP and the Congress looted the funds which were allotted for development works in the region. After the formation of the BJP government in the state, the region has become free from dacoits."
At his Kanpur rally, Yogi Adityanath said Congress and Pakistan were pained the most after the Centre abrogated Article 370, which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union territories.
"As many as 41,000 citizens of Kashmir have died due to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, but the SP, the BSP and the Congress never did anything on the issue. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP abrogated Article 370 and paved the way for development in Kashmir," he said.