Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath blamed the Congress and other opposition parties for land -related disputes especially in tribal-dominated areas, and for depriving the communities of their rights.
“These opposition parties, particularly the Congress, had done only politics and denied tribal their rights. These parties also did not serve the poor with welfare schemes and other development works,” Yogi Adityanath said.
In an oblique reference to Congress icon Priyanka Gandhi Vadra taking up cudgels for the tribals after a land-related massacre in Umbha village of Sonbhadra on July 17, Yogi Adityanath said, “A Congress ‘shahzadi’ only tried to take political mileage over dead bodies.”
Addressing a public meeting at Umbha village in Sonbhadra on Friday, the Chief Minister said that his government was committed to uplift of the poor and the tribals and more schemes and projects would be launched in future.
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone and dedicated to people projects worth over Rs 340 crore and distributed 852 bighas of land to 281 landless tribals and handed over the allotment letters of Mukhya Mantri Awas to 292 families.
Terming the July 17 massacre of 10 persons at Umbha village as a black spot, Yogi Adityanath said the Bharatiya Janata Party government would ensure that the rights of the tribals and the poor were safeguarded.
“A SIT (special investigation team) is probing the incident and the guilty would not be spared. It is unfortunate that tribals have been harassed since Independence and no government did anything for them. We are committed to seeing smiles on the faces of the poor and the tribals,” the Chief Minister said, adding that a former Congress parliamentarian and Governor grabbed tribal land in the area.
Yogi Adityanath also announced that every landless and poor tribal would be provided land as per the Land Ceiling Act.
This was the Chief Minister’s second visit to Sonbhadra after the killing of 10 innocent tribals over land dispute.