Yogi woos youth with tablets, smartphones ahead of UP polls; targets Akhilesh again

Adityanath gave tablets and smartphones to around one lakh students from different parts of the state

CM Yogi Adityanath distributes smartphone to a student at the Ekana Sports Stadium. Credit: PTI Photo

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday launched the first phase of distributing smartphones and tablets among the students ahead of the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state, which were scheduled to be held in two months time.

Adityanath gave tablets and smartphones to around one lakh students, who had come from different parts of the state and had assembled at the Ekana Sports Stadium in the city.

Addressing the students, the chief minister said that the previous governments never bothered to take care of the needs of the youth and were busy only "looting" public money and "duping" students.

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He trained guns at Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav, claiming that during the SP regime, members of the family "extorted" money from the people and government jobs were given only to the relatives and kin of that family. This was a reference to the Akhilesh Yadav's family.

Referencing Akhilesh again, Adityanath said that those who wake up at noon could never represent the youth of the state. "12 baje so kar uthne wale yuva nahin hain... corona vaccine ka virodh karne wale yuva nahin hain (those getting up at 12 are not youth... those opposing the coronavirus vaccine are not youth)," he said.

Yogi earlier as well, had said that Akhilesh was in the habit of waking up at "12 noon" and did not get time to work for the people during his tenure as CM of the state between 2012 and 2017. Incidentally, SP had also distributed tablets and laptops during his tenure but his party lost the polls in 2017.

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Akhilesh had been facing personal attacks from the BJP leaders, including the chief minister, in the run-up to the next assembly polls. Adityanath had earlier referred to SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav (Akhilesh's father) as his "abbajaan" (father in Urdu).

The SP President had also retorted by saying that "Baba", referencing Adityanath, did not know how to operate smartphones and computers.

According to the official sources, the state government planned to distribute about one crore smartphones and tablets to the students in the near future. They said that the distribution would take place at the district level.

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