Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday reacted strongly to Opposition allegations, and claimed that while the Samajwadi Party (SP) gave ‘One District One Mafia’ to the State, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is making efforts for ‘One District One Product’, giving new life to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
“One District One Product has given a new life to MSMEs. The State become the hub of exports. We are providing more than double the employment as compared to 2016-17. In the financial year 2021-22, the total exports from U.P. is valued at ₹1,56,000 crore. Before 2017, every district of Uttar Pradesh had a mafia. Everyone was aware of it. Organised mining mafias, forest mafias and criminal gangs were common. The SP promoted ‘One District One Mafia’ while we promote ‘One District One Product’,” the CM said.
Mr. Adityanath was responding to Leader of the Opposition Akhilesh Yadav’s allegations in which he mocked the State government’s efforts regarding economic development and an ambitious target of a $1 trillion economy.
“The proposals worth ₹34.09 lakh crore are a validation of the people’s trust in the Uttar Pradesh government and its credibility. Why didn’t this come before 2017?” he asked.
The CM argued that the U.P. government accepts the challenges it faces and tries to overcome them. “What type of government there should be? One which runs away or accepts them as a challenge and works on a policy of zero tolerance towards corruption and crime. Our government accepted every challenge in the last six years with full commitment,” said Mr. Adityanath, while thanking all the 134 members who participated in the discussion on Budget 2023-24 in the State Assembly.
Speaking on the issue of the much-discussed ‘Caste Census’, Mr. Adityanath said vaccines, tests and rations during the pandemic were not given based on caste and alleged when the Opposition has no relevant argument, they come up with the caste angle to divert the attention of the society.
“The previous government in 2016-17 discontinued scholarships of 21,21,629 students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Our government gave those pending scholarships to them. When the Opposition has no relevant argument, they come up with the caste angle to divert the attention of society. We work for the benefit of each and every section of society with full capabilities,” added the CM.
The SP is continuously pushing for the caste-based Census, claiming it is necessary for the State to know which social groups are marginalised, so better policy-making could be initiated.
