NEW DELHI: Making a spirited attempt to allay fears of discrimination against any community, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath asserted that his only mantra for the government is “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”. The saffron clad Yogi said that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is his role model and he would seek to herald the path of development and progress.
Taking part in the discussions on the Finance Bill, Adityanath had all eyes and ears focussed on him, as members cutting across the party lines thumped desks to fete him for his appointment for the post of the chief minister of India’s largest state. Even while making a forceful articulation of the development model of the Modi government, Adityanath avoided making his trademark acerbic comment against the Opposition. Yet, he did not miss out an opportunity to take a potshot at “UP ke Ladke” slogan of the Samajwadi Party and Congress during the election campaign. “Rahul ji is a year older to me and Akhilesh ji is a year younger. Maybe, I came in between the two UP Ke Ladke,” quipped Adityanath to the thumping of desks by the treasury benches.
He mentioned that his government will not be for any specific caste or community, but will adhere to the mantra of “Sabka saath, Sabka Vikas”. The chief minister stressed that reverting the exodus of the youth from the state is his top priority. In an apparent bid to give an indication for what lies in the state, the chief minister said that no businessman in Gorakhpur had to pay “Goonda tax” and none of them were ever kidnapped. “The same level of sense of security will be extended to whole of UP,” added the chief minister.
The chief minister was greeted by the Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, while the leader of the Congress in the House Mallikarjuna Kharge wished him success.
The chief minister had hectic day on Tuesday as he first called on the Prime Minister during which a host of issues, including the waiver of the farmers’ loans, were discussed. Incidentally, the principal secretary in the PMO Nripendra Mishra had already held extensive discussions with senior officials of UP. The chief minister later called on President Pranab Mukherjee, Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh, Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, BJP patriarch L K Advani, party chief Amit Shah, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Mahesh Sharma. The chief minister told Sharma, that the state government would provide land for the proposed Ramayana circuit in Ayodhya.
The chief minister is learnt to have discussed the issue of the distribution of portfolios to his ministers, including two deputy chief ministers – Dinesh Sharma and Keshav Prasad Maurya – with the BJP chief.