Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ridiculed on Saturday unity efforts of the Opposition ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, saying non-BJP parties were ganging up just to create political instability in the country and fish in troubled waters.
“The Opposition is worried that the BJP is gaining from strength to strength. They are opposed to development and have been ganging up to join hands with the only aim to take on the saffron party,” he said at ‘Hindustan Shikhar Samagam’, an event by a media house.
Mr. Adityanath said Opposition parties were not clear as to who will lead the alliance. “They cannot project any leader who can head the alliance.”
Ram temple
“A grand Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya. People are very hopeful. Ramji will decide its date. But it will be built definitely,” he said.
The BJP would fight 2019 Lok Sabha polls on the plank of development and it would retain power under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.
No caste card
The 46-year-old monk-turned-politician said the party did not believe in playing the caste card for the sake of votes and it would go to the polls on the development plank. “We believe in development and welfare of the people without any discrimination.”
On the police encounters in the State, he said the authorities were trying their best to instil confidence in the minds of people that lawbreakers would not be allowed to go scot-free. “At the same time, we have warned the police that there should not be any fake encounters. If they misuse power, action will be taken against them.”
Mr. Adiyanath, who took charge last year after the BJP scored a landslide victory in the Assembly polls, slammed the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) dispensation, saying: “People voted against the SP as they came to realise the misdeeds of the Akhilesh Yadav government.”
Raj Babbar refutes CM's remarks
However, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Raj Babbar, who was the next guest at the meet, refuted Mr. Adityanath’s remarks on Opposition unity. He said unity efforts were in the context of Uttar Pradesh, which sends the highest number of 80 members to the Lok Sabha. “This is Lok Sabha election and national leaders will take a call,” he said.
The actor-turned-politician said the efforts to strike unity among non-BJP parties were not directed against any individual. “The sole purpose is to save the country from the BJP’s misrule.”
Aske who will head the alliance, Mr. Babbar said the issue would crop up at a later stage. “It is for the people to decide, the country will decide... ”.
“But, one thing is for certain that if the Congress heads the alliance, it will be our party chief Rahul Gandhi who will head it,” he added.
