In his fourth election rally in Uttar Pradesh since the Model Code of Conduct was announced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Akhilesh Yadav government for not “providing safety to honest citizens and women” and for not doing enough for farmers.
Mr. Modi, who was speaking in Bijnor a day before the first phase of elections in the State on Saturday, strongly attacked the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance. He said the State needed to be saved from two families, one of which had destroyed the State and the other had looted the country for the last 70 years.
“So just imagine what the two families will do to Uttar Pradesh now that they have come together,” said the Prime Minister, drawing cheers from the crowd.
BJP workers harassed
Mr. Modi also accused the Akhilesh Yadav government of “misusing power and arresting innocent BJP workers”. Without mentioning the name of Aishwarya Chaudhary, the BJP worker who was arrested for allegedly triggering a communal riot in Peda village of Bijnor last year, Mr. Modi said: “Just before the elections, the Akhilesh Yadav government made a list of people who could stand against the goondaraj of his government and booked them under false cases. The State government which has been misusing power will be exposed on March 11.”
Mocking Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Modi said: “There is a Congress leader who is known for his childish acts. Even senior Congress leaders used to keep a distance from him. You will find the largest number of jokes if you google his name. Now I fail to understand why Akilesh Yadav has allied with such a person.”
Hitting out at the Samajwadi Party government on the law and order situation, the Prime Minister said: “When I said in one of my speeches that women are not safe in U.P. after sunset, a gentleman came to me and said I was wrong. He said women are unsafe in the State even in daylight.”
Mr. Modi referred to the SP patriarch’s statement that boys would be boys as they make small mistakes for which they should not be hanged. “Do you actually expect that the party whose chief says outrageous things like this can make women feel safe under his government?”
“Why should not a government which cannot ensure safety of citizens and women be thrown out? What is the point of a government which cannot provide employment to the youth and cannot secure interests of farmers? I urge you to throw out this incompetent government which has never worked for the welfare of its people and instead only served the interests of just one family and not even that of its vote bank. Otherwise this useless government will also destroy your life,” Mr. Modi said.
Amid strong anger among Jats against the BJP, Mr. Modi tried to woo the community and repeatedly talked about his government's working model based on that of Chaudhary Charan Singh.
He also announced that if the party was voted to power, it would constitute a fund for farmers’ welfare in every district of U.P. in the name of Chaudhary Charan Singh. He accused the Akhilesh Yadav government of not spending the Centre’s allocation for farmers' schemes like crop insurance.
Reaching out to the Jats, Mr. Modi said, “Congress never left any opportunity to abuse and insult Chaudhary Charan Singh. Our government has been trying to follow the path of Charan Singh’s footsteps. And that is why ours if the first government after Charan Singh’s which lowered the price of fertilizers.”
