LUCKNOW: Picking up the gauntlet thrown down by Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav a day earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said he was ready to contest the upcoming Assembly elections from the temple town of Ayodhya. However, Yogi challenged the SP chief to contest against him from the same constituency.
The war of words between the two leaders intensified when Akhilesh, within minutes, responded that even a single young PDA (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) sentinel was enough to defeat those accused of stealing offerings, donations and contributions in Ayodhya.
“Those who give clean chits to thieves are themselves stakeholders in the wrongdoing. The truth has not come out yet, but this time, the people will bring all that arrogance down. Have you forgotten the Lok Sabha elections? And whatever remains unfinished will be completed by the mothers of Ayodhya, who witnessed how an arrogant dispensation publicly insulted a grieving mother. Did your internal survey tell you that no one from your side wants to contest the election in Ayodhya?” the SP chief said.
Earlier, speaking in Balrampur on Saturday, Yogi said: “I have no hesitation in contesting from Ayodhya. But you should also contest from there. Let’s file our nomination papers from Ayodhya and try our luck once. Why fight through aides? The contest should be face-to-face. Let us face each other directly.”
“The SP’s babua is already rattled. These are the people who bow before mafias and offer prayers at their graves. How can they fight us? They do not have the courage. The public has already shown them the door in the past. They are now clueless and venting their frustration by throwing such challenges,” the UP Chief Minister said.
Yogi added: “Akhilesh ji, Ayodhya is our sacred abode. I visit Ayodhya repeatedly to ensure that there is no negligence in its development and that the identity of Uttar Pradesh is not tarnished in any way. Ayodhya is a place of faith for us. We visit it not to contest elections but to ensure its development.”
Akhilesh had challenged the Chief Minister on Friday, saying: “If the Chief Minister, who makes tall claims about Ayodhya, is so confident, he should contest the election from Ayodhya himself.”
He added that the people of Ayodhya and the entire country would not spare those allegedly involved in the theft of donations made to the Ram temple.
However, later, while clarifying his remarks in Ballia, the SP chief said he had not challenged the UP Chief Minister to contest from Ayodhya but had merely offered political advice.
Speaking to reporters in Sikanderpur on Friday, Yadav had accused the BJP of hypocrisy, pointing to the alleged theft of Ram temple donations while the party spoke about Sanatan Dharma.
“It was political advice. If he is so confident about Ayodhya and has said that the truth would emerge within 15 days, he should contest the next election from Ayodhya. This is not a challenge, but advice,” Yadav said.
Meanwhile, Yogi said in Balrampur that development in Ayodhya had only just begun and much more remained to be done.
“During the SP government, Ayodhya received only three to four hours of electricity. Obstacles were created to hinder development. Today, Ayodhya is reminding us of the Treta Yuga, presenting a new example of Ram Rajya. The NDA will win 80% of the seats in the upcoming Assembly elections, while the opposition will get a maximum of 20%,” he claimed.
Taking a swipe at the main opposition party, the Chief Minister said the SP's PDA actually stood for ‘Parivar Development Authority’. It could also mean ‘Pradesh Dubao Alliance’ (alliance to sink the state), he said.
“In the Rajya Sabha elections, the SP neglected Dalits, backward classes and other sections. One seat was given to a family member, while the other was allocated on the basis of financial muscle. There is no place in the SP’s agenda for anyone outside the family,” he alleged.
On the ongoing protests over the Chief Election Commissioner, whom the opposition has accused of facilitating ‘vote theft’, Yogi said that when opposition parties won elections, they credited their own efforts. When they lost, they blamed electronic voting machines (EVMs), questioned the Election Commission and criticised the courts.
He also accused previous governments of corruption, riots and patronising criminals, asserting that no one could incite riots in the state now.
Yogi said previous governments had patronised anti-social elements, strongmen and mafia figures, emboldening offenders and forcing ordinary citizens to live in fear. He said the rule of law now prevailed in the state because of the government's zero-tolerance policy towards crime and criminals.
“No mafia will be allowed to undermine law and order. Those who endanger the safety of girls have no option apart from jail or hell,” he said.