Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday targeted Samajwadi Party, saying if Akhilesh Yadav becomes the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, his government will show "red light" to development and green light to "mafia and musclemen".
"There was Bahubali (musclemen) in every district under the previous regime, but in the present Yogi Adityanath's regime, there is no such mafia. There is only Bajrangbali now," the BJP leader said addressing election rallies.
Referring to the BJP's poll symbol, he said Goddess Lakshmi entered every household with the lotus and referred to welfare measures taken by the government, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shah warned the voters that if the "mafia rule" returns in Uttar Pradesh, "industries will go".
"If you search for the mafia, you can see it at three places in UP - they are visible in jail, second outside UP and third you will see in the list of candidates of Samajwadi Party," he said.
The BJP leader also accused the SP, BSP and the Congress of opposing the abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, for their "vote bank" politics.
"Had SP, BSP, Congress been in power, would they have withdrawn Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir? When Modi ji became PM for the second time, he withdrew it (Article 370) on August 5, 2019. Akhilesh Yadav was against it. Why do you do such vote bank politics?" he said.
"He (Akhilesh) stood in front of me and said due to the decision (revoking Article 370) khoon ki nadiya bahengi (rivers of blood will flow) but Akhilesh Babu leave that river of blood no one had the courage to throw even a kankad (stone)," Shah said, asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured the nation.
He was addressing rallies in Atrauli, Aligarh, where Sandeep Singh, former UP CM Kalyan Singh's grandson, is the party candidate and in Badaun.
"Akhilesh government will show red light to development and green light to the mafia and Bahubali (musclemen)", Shah said, asking the people whether they wanted "red-light, green-light" government.
The SP flag has red and green colours.
"For the 15 crore people of UP, this is not only the lotus flower but also mother Lakshmi, Ma Annapurna, which came to their houses. Modi fed their children for two years," he said.
He said that if "mafia rule" again comes in the state, people will hesitate to invest in the defence corridor in Aligarh, announced by Prime Minister Modi in 2018.
Shah asserted that the general elections in 2014 and 2019 and the assembly polls in 2017 were for "changing the fortune (kismat) of Uttar Pradesh".
He said the SP and the BSP "gripped with casteist thinking" could never do any good for the state.
"During SP and BSP rule, goondas (criminals) used to harass people and police used to run away from them, but under (CM) Yogi Adityanath regime, criminals and mafias are migrating out of the state," he said.
Shah alleged that the SP, the BSP and the Congress cannot rule in a "transparent and corruption-free" manner
"Only the BJP and lotus symbol could give corruption-free government under the leadership of Modi," he said
Polling will be held in Atrauli on February 10 in the first phase. BJP stalwart Kalyan Singh had represented this seat many times.
On his relations with Kalyan Singh, Shah said, "In 2013, when I was sent as the in-charge of UP, I had visited Lucknow and Varanasi. I sought time from 'Babuji' (Kalyan Singh), he invited me for food at home and like a father held my finger and taught me about Uttar Pradesh politics."
Kalyan Singh was the person who first talked about giving the backward society its due right, he said.
The Union home minister said for 'Ramjanmbhoomi', Kalyan Singh had resigned as the chief minister and "our PM (Modi) has laid the foundation of Ram temple".
Shah urged the people to once again vote the Yogi Adityanath government to power and also ensure the victory of Sandeep Singh.
Alleging that Akhilesh Yadav misled the people on the Covid-19 vaccine, Shah said, "He used to say it's BJP's vaccine, I will not take it. He misled the people of UP and the country. He, however, out of fear took the vaccine himself."
"Had you all not taken the vaccine, would you be able to save yourself in the third wave? Narendra Modi secured 130 core people by getting them vaccinated," he said.
Shah also hit out at Congress, saying when there was "Sonia-Manmohan" government at the Centre, anyone used to enter India from Pakistan and cut off the heads of soldiers and the prime minister at that time would not react.
"Mauni baba (Manmohan Singh) used to remain silent. When the Modi government came, Pakistan-sponsored terrorists did not know that the government changed. When they attacked in Uri and Pulwama, within 10 days there was a surgical strike and terrorists were eliminated inside Pakistan," he said.
Taking a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shah said he did not know about Kharif and Rabi crops and ''if someone would tell him to talk about potato growers in Aligarh he would say he will open a potato factory here".
"Can a person who does not know that a potato is grown in a field and not a factory resolve problems of farmers," he said.
Refuting Akhilesh Ýadav's claim of bad law and order in the state, Shah said as compared to the previous regime, dacoity cases have reduced by 70 per cent, loot by 69 per cent, murder by 29 per cent, kidnapping by 35 per cent and rape by 30 per cent.
He said people like Azam Khan, Atiq Ahmad and Mukhtar Ansari, who are seen with Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav, are in jail.
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