LUCKNOW: Cautioning people of Bijnor in western UP against voting for ‘history-sheeters,’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched a multi-pronged attack on the SP-RLD alliance over issues pertaining to law and order, dynastic politics and corruption on Monday.
He was addressing a virtual Jan Chaupal rally in Bijnor which will go to the polls in the second phase on February 14. The PM had resorted to virtual speech after his chopper could not take off due to the inclement weather.
However, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary took a jibe on PM for "cancelling" his rally. He tweeted: “It's a sunny day in Bijnor, but the BJP's weather is bad.” He also posted two photographs along with his tweet - one a screenshot of a news bulletin showing the Prime Minister's trip has been cancelled and the second one having the screenshot of Google weather, which shows a sunny day in Bijnor.
The RLD chief, in alliance with SP, has been claiming that the BJP leaders were shying away from facing the people as it was facing difficulty in the western state.
PM Modi continued with his tirade against the SP-RLD alliance calling the SP “fake Samajwadis." Keeping his deliberations focused around corruption in the previous dispensations dominated by dynasties, the PM claimed that the vested interests of the then rulers had stalled the development of the state before 2017.
“The stream of development in UP was stagnated. It was due to the fake Samajwadis and their close ones.” said the PM. He claimed that the development projects used to be delayed by the previous governments deliberately to earn from them and that gave strength to ‘red tapism’ in the system. “For BJP, the entire state is a family,” said the PM.
“These people had no thirst for the development of common man, the thirst for the progress, the thirst for freedom from poverty. Instead, they were focused on quenching their own thirst and that of their close ones. They kept quenching the thirst of their own coffers. Such a selfish thirst dries up all streams of development,” said the PM.
At the beginning of his address, the prime minister apologised to the people of Bijnor for not being able to campaign in person due to weather conditions. He said that his helicopter couldn't leave and he had to hold a poll campaign in virtual mode once again.
Modi has so far addressed three virtual rallies in west UP from where the 7-phase UP polls will start from February 10. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, who had reached Bijnor to address the rally along with the PM, launched a scathing attack on the opposition, asking voters to give a tight slap with votes to those who spread rumours about Covid-19 vaccines.
“I appeal to everyone that if 100 per cent of the people here are fully vaccinated, it's time to give a tight slap with your votes to those who spread rumoUrs against the vaccines and called them 'Modi' and 'BJP' vaccines."
He also raised the issue of law and order reminding the people of the communal conflagration of Muzaffarnagar in 2013. "Do you remember during the Muzaffarnagar riots... a couple of boys disappeared; one was operating the riots in Lucknow, and the other was witnessing it from Delhi. Where are they now? Today, they know the BJP can cool down their tempers," said CM Yogi in a swipe directed at the Samajwadi Party.