The much-hyped four-kilometre long padyatra of BJP national president Amit Shah was called off at the last minute following the gruesome murder of a trader’s son in Meerut. But the incident gave BJP a hammer to beat the ruling Samajwadi Party in westrn UP where elections are slated next week.
Shah’s Padyatra was slated a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally.
Initially, authorities had changed the Padyatra route following resentment among traders after last night’s shootout in which a trader’s young son Abhishek was gunned down. Four others were injured after criminals attacked their godown. As the words reached Shah, he cancelled his Padyatra and went to condole his death.
later, Shah addressed an impromptu public meeting attacking the Samjawadi Party government over a spurt in crime. “This is the real picture of UP where no one is safe,” he said.
The BJP chief said that the goons of SP have been unleashing terror among people. “There are reports of 24 rapes and 13 murders every day in UP. Today, we have decided to call off our padyatra in honour of Abhishek. But we should go to the people and tell them what this murder actually means. This means – we are no longer safe in UP,” he said.
“Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi, who have joined hands, should speak about the failing law and order in UP. Both “shahzade” (princes) failed to do anything and they are claiming to make UP number -1,” he said.
Shah piointed out that on one hand, there is a party involved in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crores, on the other, there is a government that failed to protect the common man.
The BJP leader cited figures to say that there was 161 per cent increase in incidents of rape. “Over 200 incidents of communal riots have been reported in last five years but the Akhilesh Yadav government failed to take preventive steps,” charged the BJP chief.
Reiterating his party’s commitment to makiong UP ‘goonda mukt pradesh’ (criminal-free state), Shah said that it was unfortunate that a youth was killed and several others were injured in Meerut but Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav seemed least bothered by the killings.