Now UP's identity is festivals, not mafia and disorder, says Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday asserted that law and order in the state has improved under his government, and the state was now being identified by its grand festivals and not for the mafia.

Kicking off an election campaign for the upcoming urban body elections from Saharanpur, he spoke about the achievements of his government and charged that earlier governments were busy instigating riots.

Today, the state's identity is festivals, not mafia and disorder, he said.

Amidst a loud applause from locals, the chief minister said Uttar Pradesh is not anyone's property and that extortion will not be allowed.

There are no riots and curfew in Uttar Pradesh now and all is good, he asserted.

Lashing out at the previous governments, the chief minister said, "Before 2017, the governments here did not have time for anything other than creating riots but today there is no curfew in Uttar Pradesh. Now the kanwar yatra is taken out. Earlier, fake cases were lodged against the youth but now no one can do that."

"Earlier daughters were afraid to leave their homes. Today, however, there is a fear-free atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh," he said.

Making a fervent appeal to people to support the Bharatiya Janata Party candidates in the upcoming urban body elections, Adityanath said, "This election is for connecting the third engine to the double engine government. Once that is done, the money that will come from Delhi will be put to good use."

Cautioning the voters against other forces, he said, "We have to decide whether we want a casteist governments which were in place before the 2017 period or a government which is dedicated to the welfare of the poor."

"We all have to decide whether to have a corruption-ridden system or a corruption-free system. We have to decide whether the youths should have guns in their hands or tablets and smartphones. We have to decide whether there should be sound of gunfire in the streets or a change in the lives of people," he said.

"We have to decide whether we want extortion by hooligans or a system that provides self-financing to the poor. There should be a 'Safe City'. 'Bhajan Ganga' (devotional hymns) should be our priority," he said.

Adityanath said he is starting the election campaign from in Saharanpur to get the blessings of Maa Shakambhari.

"We gave the benefits of governance and schemes without discrimination, without seeing anyone's caste, religion or face," he said.

The chief minister said he has come in Saharanpur more than a dozen times in the last six years.

"I have seen with my own eyes the neglect of Saharanpur before 2017. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Saharanpur is shining in front of the country and the world with a new aura of development. Soon, you will cover the Saharanpur-Delhi distance in two to two-and-a-half hours."

The chief minister also gave details of the development plans for Saharanpur.