Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lashed out at the Samajwadi Party for the controversy triggered by it over caste-based census and questions raised over the law and order in the state.
“The state government ensured that the benefit of the welfare schemes of the government reached the intended beneficiary without any discrimination on the basis of caste and religion. The opposition, having failed to win the trust of the people in the 2022 UP assembly elections, is desperate to deflect the attention of the people and they have only one issue – caste,” the chief minister said.
“The picture of the main culprit behind the shootout incident in Prayagraj went viral in the media. Leader of the opposition is shaking hands with the accused and the symbol of your party is clearly seen in the background. How can you turn your face away now?” he remarked while rebutting charges levelled by the leader of opposition Akhilesh Yadav during the debate on the budget.
“Did Umesh Pal and Sandeep Nishad have no caste? Did Raju Pal, who became an MLA on his own strength and was murdered, have no caste too? Who was the patron of the mafia when Raju Pal was murdered? Tell me, have you taken the contract of caste? That you will get a poor and backward killed by giving protection to professional criminals, make a spectacle, and then retract. This is really strange,” the chief minister said.
Chief Minister Yogi said that Uttar Pradesh had come a long way in the journey of progress from where the opposition had left it. “You laugh when we talk about development, infrastructure and making UP's economy one one trillion dollars. But, UP has gone much ahead in its journey of progress and will definitely become a one-trillion dollar economy.
“I am happy to say that our state UP is a revenue surplus state today. The increased revenue that we have today is becoming the basis of public welfare. The basis for the welfare of the poor, farmers, mothers and daughters is being formed. It is becoming the basis for developing world class infrastructure. UP, was made bimaru by you people; today it has recovered from the disease and is emerging as a big economy of the country. I can say that let our first groundbreaking happen and UP will emerge as the number two economy and in five years it will be the leading economy of the country,” the chief minister said.
The chief minister further said that no additional tax was imposed on the public in the last five years. “The price of petrol and diesel is the lowest in UP compared to the neighbouring states. The business class is eager to give goods and services tax (GST) in UP. More than 26 lakh traders have registered for GST and are continuously doing so. The government has made available a security insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh to every trader,” he pointed out.
The chief minister said that during the pandemic, the government displayed utmost sensitivity towards people’s issues and provided free tests, treatment, vaccine and ration. Maintenance allowance was also provided to the poor, the street vendors while skill mapping was done of 40 lakh workers. “We never said that we do not have money. We neither had to take loans from banks, nor did we need to plead with financial institutions. Within the limits of the FRBM Act, the present system of UP has been kept within the ambit of fiscal deficit. UP kept the fiscal deficit under control despite COVID-19. This is the best example of financial management by a government, which the opposition must appreciate,” he said.