Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday remarked that the motto of Samajwadi Party– jo zameen khaali, woh zameen hamari (any vacant land is our land)– would not work anymore, adding that free houses were being built on land freed from the control of mafias and criminals. The Chief Minister performed the ‘Bhoomi Puja’ and laid the foundation stone of the houses of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in Prayagraj. “The Samajwadi Party’s motto of ‘Jo zameen khali, woh zameen hamari’ will not work anymore. In the previous governments, the wealth of the poor and businessmen was usurped. Poor were deprived of the benefits of the government schemes and they were forced to watch it all as mere spectators. But today, the government has operated its bulldozers on the illegal wealth of ‘professional’ mafias and criminals. Free homes for the poor are being constructed on the land freed from their control,” said Adityanath while addressing the audience. He went on to add, “Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to give money to the state government. But it was usurped by a select few people. Food meant for the poor, money for toilets, housing etc were usurped by the previous governments. There was no money for development, there was no interest shown by previous governments in this regard. A person associated with SP used to talk about ‘Samajwadi perfume’, on which our state BJP president said that this is not a perfume but ‘Samajwadi stink’. But yesterday, Rs 257 crores and many kgs of gold, silver were recovered from their walls. This is the money of the poor and under our government, no one has the audacity to usurp the wealth of the poor, businessmen and the backwards.” Highlighting the successes of his government in public welfare, he said, “Today, 43 lakh poor are being provided with houses. Over two lakh families in rural areas have been given toilets. Community toilets have been made in every Gram Panchayat. Under PM Jan Arogya Scheme, free insurance cover of Rs 5 lakhs is being provided to the poor. Somewhere, highways are being made, somewhere else, airports and waterways are being made. Youth are also being given free coaching, smartphones and tablets.” He said that the 2019 Kumbh fair under the BJP rule had cleanliness, security and order while the one organised in 2013 under the SP rule was marked by dirt, stampedes and anarchy. Adityanath said that efforts were ongoing to make Prayagraj the country’s ‘law capital’ by establishing a National Law University named after Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first president of independent India. The Chief Minister remarked that while BJP governments at the centre, state and its workers were busy serving the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, the other political leaders were in ‘home quarantine’. “They were busy spreading misinformation and fear. They even slammed the vaccines. But under the leadership of Modiji, free tests, treatment, foodgrains and vaccines were provided to people,” he added. He lauded the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of starting vaccination of children aged 15-18 years and providing doses to the healthcare workers, frontline workers and people above 60 with comorbidities and urged the public to stay careful and follow COVID protocols and appropriate behaviour. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced three major decisions in the fight against the disease including the start of vaccination for children in 15-18 age group from coming January 3. “Vaccination will start in the country for children aged between 15 to 18 years from January 3, 2022,” he said. “The government has decided that precaution dose of vaccine will be started for healthcare and frontline workers starting January 10, 2022. Citizens above 60 years facing co-morbidities, they will have the option of taking precaution dose on the advice of their doctor,” he added. Uttar Pradesh assembly polls are slated to take place next year.
