Criticising the opposition for “self-quarantining” themselves when the pandemic struck, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Saturday said that in such tough times, many political parties and organisations left the public to their own fate and to the government instead of coming forward in solidarity.
He charged that the opposition combated the pandemic through social media and video conferencing. He said when the lockdown was imposed to save people from the deadly coronavirus, the opposition parties questioned the move and they also questioned why the lockdown was lifted.
“Today, the whole world is facing the biggest pandemic of the century. Many people became self-quarantined during this disease, imprisoned in their respective homes and did not meet anyone during this time. The public was left to their own fate and to the government” the chief minister said while addressing a conference of the newly-elected zila panchayat chairpersons and block pramukhs at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, and added, “We are all grateful to our respected prime minister, who not only successfully controlled coronavirus but also took care of every section of society through welfare schemes.”
Bharatiya Janata Party president Jagat Prakash Nadda, who is on a two-day visit in Uttar Pradesh, was also present during the programme.
Praising the schemes of the Central government, Yogi Adityanath said that whether it was distribution of food grains or providing food for all, the government did everything successfully. He said other funds, including pension, were made available in the Jan Dhan accounts of the beneficiaries and food grains were provided to more than 80 crore poor families. He said during the first and second waves of COVID-19, free food grains were distributed to all the poor people.
He said the relief measures like free food grain distribution under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana during the pandemic won global appreciation from World Health Organisation and United Nations Organisation and many countries implemented this scheme. He said during the first wave free food grain was distributed among 80 crore people of India and free food grain would be given to the poor till November this year.
Regarding the pace of vaccination in Uttar Pradesh, the chief minister said that within nine months of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the vaccine was provided to everyone free of cost. He said UP had administered 5.33 crore vaccines so far out of which more than 2.28 crore vaccines had been administered to people above 18 years of age.
Giving instructions to the newly-elected district panchayat and area panchayat chairpersons, the chief minister said that they should all work by chalking out an action plan and creating a new image of development.
The chief minister further said, “The responsibility given to you is not just a position, but your further progress will also depend on it. Everyone should work with full sincerity and honesty. It is due to the hard work and efforts of the workers that we have won with high numbers in the panchayat elections.”
He asked the elected leaders of panchayati institutions to prepare a roadmap for the development of villages. “During the next five years as much as Rs 2,500 crore is to be devolved to the panchayat institution and rural development will get a big boost if the panchayats formulate a comprehensive plan for development,” he said.
Yogi said that there should be excellent coordination between gram pradhans, members of zila panchayats and block pramukhs and they all had to become the pivot of the spirit of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas’.
“Coronavirus pandemic is not over yet. We have to be alert. Attention will have to be paid to the sanitisation campaign in all areas. Work has to be done on how to make the panchayat an ideal gram panchayat. With teamwork we can get great results,” the chief minister asserted.
Later, BJP chief JP Nadda also lauded the efforts of the Uttar Pradesh government in containing the COVID-19 pandemic and successfully implementing the schemes of the Central government in the state.