Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that municipal bodies were a powerful medium to provide civic amenities at the grassroots level and appealed to people to vote for Bharatiya Janata Party candidates in the urban local bodies elections in order to expedite effective implementation of development projects and welfare schemes.
Addressing a public meeting at the Government Inter College grounds in Pratapgarh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said: “Who does not like to have good roads with no traffic congestion, pure drinking water facility, effective drainage system and an online system to get residential, caste, income as well as birth and death certificates without making rounds of offices. But, only the double-engine government of the BJP supported by the third engine at municipal bodies can ensure this.”
He said: “In Pratapgarh alone we have provided 10,145 houses in urban areas and have given interest-free loans to 4,595 street vendors under PM SVANidhi Yojana. We are protecting the interests of every section of society, be they farmers, women, traders or the youths. The previous governments were giving pistols to the youth and we are giving them tablets to make them smart. We are ensuring empowerment of all without any discrimination.”
Lashing out at the opposition parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party for neglecting development of Pratapgarh and for being responsible for escalation in criminal activities, Yogi said: “Congress, SP and BSP left no stone unturned to destroy Pratapgarh. The district was famous for its Indian gooseberry and the Auto Tractor Ltd. The Auto Tractor Ltd was shut down and people also stopped growing gooseberries during previous governments.”
The chief minister said earlier extortions were rampant whereas traders and daughters were unsafe while farmers did not get remunerative prices of their produce. Girls could not go to school for fear of goons. “There was a saying ‘100 padha, ek Pratapgarha’, meaning a resident of Pratapgarh was equal to 100 educated people. But, the place lost its glory due to the misgovernance of opposition parties,” he said.
The chief minister emphasised that the BJP double-engine government was trying to revive the glory of the place by declaring Indian gooseberry as the One District One Product of Pratapgarh, which would increase farmers’ income. “We are building four-lane highways between Ayodhya and Chitrakoot that will pass through Pratapgarh. The Ganga Expressway between Meerut and Prayagraj will also pass through Pratapgarh. We have already opened a medical college in Pratapgarh,” he said.
Yogi said that the double-engine government was carrying forward its development programmes and houses, toilets, free LPG, electricity and tap water connections under Jal Jeevan Mission were being provided to the needy without any discrimination.