“When Article 370 (related to Jammu & Kashmir) was being framed, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee disagreed with Nehru. If the Congress wanted it could have prevented it or scrapped it later. But it took 70 years for it to change when the BJP government came to power,” Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said at a rally in Mumbai on Thursday.
Mr. Adityanath is one of the BJP’s star campaigners for the Assembly elections. On Thursday, he visited Nanded, Jalgaon, Mumbadevi and Kandivali constituencies, while appealing to people to vote for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance candidates. Mr. Adityanath’s arrival and departure at the Kandivali venue was met with huge cheers and cries of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ from the crowds.
“Dr. Ambedkar did not agree to Article 370 as it would prevent development of the region (Jammu & Kashmir). By removing it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put the last nail in the coffin of terrorism and also given a warning to Pakistan. Under the Congress government, there were so many instances of terrorism in Mumbai, Surat, Lucknow and Gorakhpur. But there has been no terrorist attack since 2014. In fact, Pakistan PM is scared that India will launch another attack like Balakot. Mumbai is now safe because of Modiji. Modiji has ended anarchy, terrorism and Naxalism. After removal of Article 370, you saw Pakistan’s crocodile tears. He (Imran Khan) was told (through this act) if you do anything, you will have to struggle for your existence. Such is the leadership of Modiji,” he said in Kandivali.
Taking pot shots at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Adityanath said, “Recently, there were heavy floods in Maharashtra but Mr. Gandhi did not come here. He will not even come for the elections. He has gone to Italy,” he said.
“In the 15 years of the Congress-NCP government, people were worried Mumbai would not stay financial capital anymore and people started leaving the city. Under Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra has reached new heights. This proves that Mumbai will continue to dominate the world. The Congress-NCP are now struggling for existence,” Mr. Adityanath said. He highlighted the State’s long-standing relationship with Uttar Pradesh when it comes to culture and politics. Former UP Governor Ram Naik was also present at the Kandivali rally and found several mentions in the U.P. CM’s speech.
“Before 2014, this country’s politics was centred around castes and dynasties. But Modiji changed the agenda of politics and brought development. On one hand, you have development regime of the BJP and on other, bad governance of the Congress-NCP. Every day, there used to be a new scam. We have zero tolerance for terrorism and Naxalism. When Modiji goes to other countries, he gets red carpets everywhere. It’s an honour for not just him, for every Indian,” Mr. Adityanath said.
