LUCKNOW: Targeting the Samajwadi Party once again during the inauguration of the Saryu Canal National Project in eastern UP’s Balrampur district on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the difference between the Yogi Adityanath government and the previous regime was clear to the people of UP. “Farq saaf hai (the difference is clear),” he said.
He said the “previous government patronized the mafia and encroached upon properties whereas the Yogi government is getting rid of the mafia and bulldozing their illegal assets. The previous regime empowered the bahubalis (strongmen) while the Yogi government is empowering the downtrodden, deprived and tribals. So the people of UP say ‘Farq saaf hai.’”
Taking on SP chief Akhilesh Yadav without naming him, the PM wondered why “someone” had not yet claimed credit for the Saryu Canal National Irrigation Project. “Some people keep claiming they had cut the ribbon of all the welfare schemes in the state. For the previous government, the priority was only to cut ribbons whereas we believe in completing the projects in time.”
Responding to Modi, Yadav picked the PM’s “farq saaf hai” phrase to say that the “Samajwadi Party gave students laptops, the BJP rained lathis on the youth. Farq saaf hai. The Samajwadi Party gave metros and expressways, the BJP is selling dreams of Kyoto. Farq saaf hai.” “I am happy the government has not denied that there was work on the Saryu project between 2012 and 2017,” he added.
The PM’s latest attack comes days after he took a dig at the SP’s red caps saying all that they were interested was in power in order to avail themselves of red beacon vehicles. The PM said the “double engine government” between the Centre and the state had ensured speedy implementation of welfare projects in the state.
The continued attack on the SP while leaving out the rest, is an indication that the BJP views the SP as its main rival in the coming state elections.
Referring to the irrigation project which was conceived in 1972, Modi said what previous governments could not do in five decades, the double engine government had accomplished in less than five years.