Lucknow: Praising Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his handling of governance, Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah hit out at the Samajwadi Party in UP, stating that Akhilesh Yadav had promoted "gundaraj" and "mafia raj" in the state when his party was in power.
"During the SP rule, whole UP used to fear from the goons and mafias. Now, Yogi-Adityanath has ended the 'Gundaraj' and has established the law and order in the state," Amit Shah said at during his speech at the BJP road show held in Bareilly on Friday.
"Akhilesh Yadav used to say 'mandir wahin banayenge, tithi nahi batayenge' (will construct the temple, but will not tell the date). Now let's see if he can stop the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya," the Union Minister reiterated.
He also referenced the recent arrest of a prominent UP businessman and perfume merchant, Piyush Jain, who was arrested on charges of possession of 177 crores of uncounted cash and kilograms of gold. The arrest resulted in a political spat, with both SP and BJP accusing each other of links to the tainted businessman.
"Now, UP has shifted from the path of corruption to the path of development. Recent raids by the income tax department have made Akhilesh Yadav panic. The stench of Samajwadi scent has spread everywhere," said Shah. He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for development efforts in UP and nearby areas, urging the audience to visit the new Kashi corridor and offer prayers at the Ganga which he claimed had become less polluted due to the BJP's efforts to clean up the river.
Shah predicted that public affection for the Yogi Adityanath government would bring the BJP back to power with a majority of over 300 seats in the upcoming assembly elections. The Union Minister has been addressing rallies in the state as part of BJP's campaign for assembly polls which is scheduled for next year.
In the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 312 seats out of the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Assembly while Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) won 19 and Congress could win only seven seats.
The roadshow featuring Amit Shah started from the Bada Bazar area and ended at the Patel Chowk area in Bareilly.