Modi
Kasganj (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the BJP's flag was flying high after the first round of voting in Uttar Pradesh and asked people not to vote for the 'dynasts' who intend to stop the government's welfare schemes for the poor if they come to power.
Modi was addressing a physical rally in Kasganj district which will vote in the third phase of the ongoing Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on February 20.
In an apparent dig at the Samajwadi Party, Modi said, "The dynastic leaders are so desperate that they have made up their mind to stop all the schemes (of BJP government) which are run for the poor. Hence, these people should never be given an opportunity."
Urging the people of Uttar Pradesh to "remain alert", he said, "The blessings and love that you have showered on Modi and Yogi ji, have robbed these pariwarvadis (dynasts) of their sleep. No matter how much efforts they made to divide you on the basis of caste, they have failed."
These "dynasts" filled their coffers, but were never bothered about the poor. They do not want the lives of the poor to become easy, he said.
Taking a jibe at political rivals, Modi said after the first round of voting in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP's flag is flying high while its rivals are disappointed.
"In all the interviews given by the leaders of opposition parties, they have a long face. Even those who are staunch dynasts have realised this. Hence, they have started raising questions over the EVMs and Election Commission," Modi said.
They will have plenty of time to badmouth the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after March 10 when results will be declared, he said.
Modi also accused them of trying to sabotage the central government's Covid vaccination drive.
"These rumourmongers made every effort to ensure that free Covid vaccines are not administered to poor families. But the government did not allow them to succeed," Modi said.
Showering praises on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Modi said, everybody would appreciate that even his opponents cannot level corruption charges against him.
He also hailed Adityanath's announcement to name a roundabout in Ayodhya after iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar, who passed away on February 6, and termed it as an example of "unity of India".
"Lata Mangeshkar ji, who has her ancestral home in Goa, was a devotee of Lord Ram and sang many devotional songs praising him. A roundabout will be named after her in Ayodhya. This is the unity of India. I congratulate the Yogi government for this decision," he said.
The prime minister also lauded the women for turning up in large numbers to vote in the first phase.
"Yesterday, voting for the first phase in UP took place. People came out in large numbers from their homes and voted for the lotus (BJP's poll symbol) for the development of UP and to keep it safe. Our mothers, sisters and daughters have voted in large numbers," he said.
Modi also remembered former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and said that he continues to inspire the BJP to serve all sections of society.
Singh, a senior BJP leader and Hindutva poster boy, passed away on August 21, 2021.
Accusing the previous governments of doing little to improve the state's health sector while indulging in scams, Modi said the Adityanath government has cast a net of hospitals and medical colleges across Uttar Pradesh.
He also said ration mafias have been eliminated in the state and "every grain of ration", which is sent from Delhi for the poor, Dalits and backwards, is now reaching the "rightful" person.
Targeting SP chief Akhilesh Yadav over his appeal to the followers of Dalit icon Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar to join his party and help oust the BJP from power without taking his name, Modi said, “The 'ghor pariwarvarvadis' (staunch dynasts) are the biggest problem for the country's Constitution and democracy.”
Addressing a press conference last week, Yadav had said followers of Ambedkar should join the party's effort to oust the BJP from power so that democracy could be saved and people's right protected.
“If Babasaheb Ambedkar wanted, he could have made a party of his family but he did not do so. He considered crores of Dalits, oppressed and deprived people as his family," Modi said.
Listing the benefits of centre and state governments working in tandem, he said, "The double engine government has made the provision for 'one nation, one ration card'. If a person of UP has gone out (of UP) to earn his living, then Modi also thinks about the livelihood of that person,” he said.
The term "double engine" is used by BJP leaders to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a state.
PTI
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