LUCKNOW: Taking a swipe at the Samajwadi Party in Ghazipur, the stronghold of gangster-turned-politician late Mukhtar Ansari, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the party of glorifying foreign invaders and paying obeisance at the graves of dreaded mafia figures.
“They used to hold fairs in reverence of the foreign invaders like Salar Masud Ghazi instead of acknowledging the valour of Maharaja Suheldev who crushed Ghazi. The Samajwadis used to bow before figures who brandished weapons and used to intimidate people,” Yogi said on Thursday.
"Instead of honouring national heroes, they glorified foreign invaders. A thousand years ago, national hero Maharaja Suheldev crushed Salar Masud at Chittaura in Bahraich. He gave him the harshest punishment as per the tenets of Islam," the Chief Minister added.
Addressing a public gathering in Ghazipur district of eastern Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, Adityanath said that under the present government's zero-tolerance policy, all such gangsters had been reduced to dust.
“Now, when the son of a low-income family organizes a Ramlila, no one dares to brandish weapons and incite riots because they know that anyone who does so will have to be reduced to dust,” he said.
During the event, the Chief Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 268 development projects worth Rs 692 crore. The projects will benefit people in the Ghazipur, Jakhania, Mohammadabad, Saidpur, Zamania, Zahoorabad and Jangipur Assembly constituencies.
Appealing to the people of Ghazipur to elect public representatives who could raise their issues at the appropriate platform, Adityanath said, “Elect public representatives who can stand for you in your thick and thin. We do not need MPs who are busy facilitating illegal arms licenses. We do not need public representatives who dare to create fake licences and use them to commit dacoities and illegal encroachments of people's home.”
He was launching a veiled attack on local SP MP Afzal Ansari, who is facing FIRs in connection with the major irregularities found in sale and purchase of firearms against his arms licence.
The Chief Minister also said, "Now the places associated with spiritual tourism in Ghazipur are being developed. Ghazipur, known as Lahuri Kashi, has its own distinct significance. A district that has been home to the ashram of Pauhari Baba and an important centre associated with Lord Parashuram and Maharishi Jamadagni should not become a breeding ground for the mafia.”
Claiming that such anti-social mafia elements belonged to no one, he said, “They suck the blood of society. They exploit the poor, intimidate traders and are a threat to the safety of daughters."
Adityanath recalled how BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai fought against the mafia but was brutally murdered along with seven youths by the same mafia, which, he alleged, enjoyed the patronage of the then government.
He claimed that despite all the evidence against them, the mafia continued to enjoy political protection. “But now it is no more possible. The downfall of those who will try to seek political patronage is certain,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister also paid tribute to the land of Ghazipur by recalling Veer Abdul Hamid, other brave soldiers and litterateurs. He said it was a matter of great pride for Uttar Pradesh that more than 12,000 serving soldiers and officers, and over 15,000 retired soldiers and officers, hailed from Gahmar, Asia's largest village.
