In a fierce attack on opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress, on Sunday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that their leaders, who were hiding from people for past five years had suddenly appeared ahead of election to seek votes, but they would be disappointed on March 10, because there was no place for mafia and gangsters in the double engine government where everyone was protected and respected, but appeasement was for none.

“In the double engine government, the voices of the poor will be heard, women will be protected, youth will get employment and farmers will be uplifted," he said.

Addressing people at the party’s Interaction with Influential Voters programme at Maharaja Agrasen Public School and Shikarpur in Bulandshahr district to seek votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party candidates, Yogi said that during COVID-19 pandemic when he along with ministers and officials was reaching out to people to save the life of every individual and help people in every possible manner, the leader of the opposition had confined himself to his house.

“A friend is one that stands by you in your bad times; the rest are opportunists,” he remarked.

Taking a dig at SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, Yogi said that those who could not provide electricity as they were used to living in darkness were promising free electricity to fool people. Yogi said that electricity could be free only when it was not there at all.

He added, “The SP chief says that he has a new economics, but his economics has actually proved disastrous for Uttar Pradesh. As for us, we are providing electricity to people without any discrimination.”

Yogi said that in the double engine government, security was guaranteed to every one and a new UP had been created free of riots and fear. He, however, added that there were things on which the government was currently working such as resolving issues of Dhangarh, Baghel and Meena people, which included inclusion of Aheria community in the Scheduled Castes category. “We have written a letter to the Registrar General of India in this regard, seeking justice for them,” he said.

He added further that while the BJP government stood for 25 crore people of the state, for SP, BSP and Congress, family was the state. 

Hitting out at the SP, Congress and BSP, Yogi said that they were all together in denying rights to the poor and were sympathisers of criminals and the mafia, and their pain reflected when bulldozer ran over illegal properties of the mafia. 

“Their sentiments are not for the poor, the downtrodden and the deprived. Women’s safety and peaceful celebration of festivals are not their concerns,” he remarked.

Yogi alleged that the previous governments used to make guns as crime was their profession and criminals were their friends, adding that people's hard-earned money was kept hidden by their friends in the perfume business. “Our government is using bulldozers and JCBs to recover that money. They used to loot people’s money and deny the poor ration and pension,” he said.

Yogi said that while the double engine government was building a defence manufacturing corridor in Aligarh near Bulandshahr where cannons would be manufactured that would roar on the borders with enemy countries, previous governments looted people.

“Now there is no dacoity, no loot, no riots. Now the rioters walk around begging for their lives with placards hanging around their necks,” he added.

Yogi said that development of the Saifai family was everything for the previous government while for the BSP, nephew’s development was a priority. “And Congress leadership starts missing their maternal grandmother in Italy whenever their party is in the crisis,” he quipped.

Yogi said that parties that did not stand by people during the pandemic would never open a medical college whereas the BJP had done what it promised, adding that admissions would take place in 2023 and the youth would not have to wander for medical education.

Earlier, the chief minister inspected the Seth Surajmal Jathia Government Covid Hospital and also inquired about the well-being of the patients admitted there.

Also present were Minister Dr Mahendra Singh, Anil Sharma, MP Bhola Singh, District Panchayat chairman Atul Teotia, BJP district incharge Sunita Dayal and BJP district president Anil Sisodia.