Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on the Congress over its manifesto and said that it was like a ‘new version’ of the Muslim League.

The chief minister stated, “This is not a ‘Nyay Patra’, but ‘Anyay Patra’ for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and Sanatan Dharma. A new version of the Muslim League has come. Nothing can be more shameful than the manifesto of the country’s oldest political party, Congress, representing the Muslim League.”

The chief minister was addressing the media in the Gorakhnath temple premises before leaving for the election campaign in Akbarpur, Farrukhabad and Shahjahanpur Lok Sabha constituencies on Wednesday.

When asked about Sonia Gandhi’s accusation that Bharatiya Janata Party was promoting hatred politics, Chief Minister Yogi said that instead of telling white lies, Sonia Gandhi should at least develop a habit of speaking the truth.

“During the elections, these people won’t be able to deceive the public anymore because under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the entire nation has come together in the vision of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’,” he added.

Continuing his attack, Yogi said, “Everyone knows that Congress has inherited the policy of ‘divide and rule’. In 1947, Congress allowed the cunning tactics of the British to succeed and divided the country. After independence, Congress fueled class struggles within the country based on caste, region and language due to political selfishness. Terrorism, Naxalism and separatism, all of these are contributions of the Congress.”

Raising a question, Chief Minister Yogi asked, “Who doesn’t know what Sonia Gandhi did as the chairperson of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) from 2004 to 2014?”

He said that they formed the Justice Ranganath Mishra Committee to undermine OBC reservation. The committee even suggested allocating 6 per cent of the OBC reservation to Muslims. The BJP and the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) opposed it at the time, and Congress’ plans could not materialize, he added.

He said that Congress and its allies also attempted to encroach upon the rights of SC, ST communities.

“During the Congress government, there were attempts, as mentioned in the Sachar Committee report, to include some Muslim communities in the Scheduled Caste category. However, due to opposition from the NDA and the BJP, the Congress plans could not be fulfilled.

The chief minister criticised the track record of Congress, accusing it of implementing Article 370 in Kashmir and undermining OBC reservation in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

“The people of India will never allow the intention of Congress to be fulfilled because divisive politics is not in anyone’s interest,” Yogi added.

Continuing his criticism of the Congress manifesto, the chief minister emphasised its divisive nature, warning that it could lead India towards class conflicts and encroach upon the rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes.

However, he expressed confidence that the people of the nation would resist these Congress plans.

He noted the current unity across the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, striving to achieve the vision of a self-reliant and developed India.

He said that the people of the entire country were determined to support the BJP and the NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi for a developed India.