Bulldozers under repair now, will resume work after March 10: UP CM

All bulldozers in the state have been sent for repair and would resume work after March 10, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday referring to his government's action against criminals.

Chief Minister Aditynatha told an election meeting here in Mainpuri that he made this remark in response to a query by a Samajwadi Party leader who asked him if the bulldozers would be operated even during the UP assembly polls.

The UP government has been deploying bulldozers to demolish illegal properties of criminals.

"A senior SP leader asked me if bulldozers will be operated during the polls too. I told him not to worry as sometimes these bulldozers also need some rest, said the chief minister.

 

Hence, during the polls, all the bulldozers have been sent for repairing, he added.

People who had been hiding in their holes for the past four-and-half years, are crawling out after the announcement of the polls. They have been identified and after March 10, the bulldozers will resume their work. After March 10, their crawling will come to an end," Adityanath further said.

Mainpuri goes to the polls on February 20 during the third phase of the seven-phase UP assembly elections with March 10 having been scheduled to count the votes.

Of the four assembly constituencies in Mainpuri, three -- Kishani, Mainpuri and Karhal had been won by the SP and one, Bhongaon, by the BJP in the 2017 elections.

The chief minister also said unless there is a fear in the minds of criminals, the system cannot run properly.

The message that if they commit a crime, they will have to pay for the damages has gone clearly to professional rioters and criminals, posing a security threat to daughters and traders in the state, the CM said.

"Owing to the zero-tolerance policy against crime and corruption, there have been neither curfew nor bombing in the state, he said, adding the Kanwar Yatra is held peacefully today in the state amid the chants Har-Har, Bum-Bum" slogans.

The chief minister also said the situation today is quite different from the earlier one when every work used to become "disputed" and the court had to stay them.

Talking of employment opportunities in the state, the chief minister said his government has given 5 lakh jobs to youths.

"Owing to the good law and order, there has been investment in UP," he said, adding the state successfully organised divine and grand Kumbh in Prayagraj, Deepotsav in Ayodhya and Rangotsav in Barsana (Mathura).

Intensifying his attack on the SP, the chief minister also accused the BJP's key rival party of lacking sensitivity towards common people and sympathising with terrorists.

"The SP government came to power in 2012 and the first thing they did was to withdraw cases against terrorists. They were not sensitive towards farmers, youths or women and the development, he said.

The SP sympathised with terrorists who had made terror attacks in Ayodhya, at Sankatmochan Temple in Varanasi, Lucknow court premises and in Rampur, the chief minister said.

But after the BJP government came to power in UP, we waived loans amounting to Rs 36,000 crore of 86 lakh farmers. We gave tubewells in areas which had been declared dark zones by the SP and BSP governments," Adityanath said.

He also said the number of youths getting tablets and smartphones from the government free of cost along with internet links will reach two crores after March 10.

This will enable youths of Etawah and Mainpuri as well to become smart. Smartness should not remain confined to one family and every child should become smart," he said.

Addressing another election meeting in Karhal in favour of BJP candidate SP Singh Baghel, who is fighting against SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Adityanath said during the tenure of four earlier governments of the SP, development meant building of bungalows only by ministers.

The Samajwadi Party formed governments in the state four times but took no action against criminals. They, however, did not mind opening fire at Lord Ram devotees in Ayodhya," he said.

Targeting SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's family, Adityanath said, "For the Saifai clan (Yadav family), their clan itself was the state, but for me, the entire state is my family.