Ayodhya symbol of faith for me; SP, BSP get shocks when I visit: Yogi Adityanath

Yogi Adityanath, Adityanath on Secularism, Secularism, BJP, Chhattisgarh elections

KICKING OFF BJP’s campaign for the urban local body polls from Ayodhya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday that while many get “irritated with the name of Ayodhya”, the town is a symbol of faith for him. Addressing a rally at GIC ground in the presence of Hanuman Garhi Mahant Dharam Das and Digambar Akhara’s Mahant Suresh Das, he said: “Jab main Ayodhya aata hun to SP, BSP ke logon ko bura lagta hai. Aise lagta hain jaise koi current inke sharir me chhoo raha hai. Ayodhya ke naam se bahut saare logon ko chidh hoti hai (Whenever I come to Ayodhya, members of SP and BSP feel bad. It seems that they have received electric shocks… Many people get irritated with the name of Ayodhya).”

“Lekin Ayodhya hamare liye aastha ka prateek hai… Ayodhya maryada purushottam bhagwan shree Ram ki bhoomi hai (But for us, Ayodhya is a symbol of faith… it is the land of Lord Ram),” he added. Taking on the previous governments, Adityanath said: “Desh va duniya me Ayodhya… sachmuch jo samman Ayodhya ko milna chahiye tha, Ayodhya ko jis roop me prastut kiya jana chahiye tha, pichli pradesh sarkaron ne badi upeksha ki hai… (The respect Ayodhya should have received… the way it should have been promoted… previous governments have neglected Ayodhya).”

“Jo aapki pehchan par sankat khada kar rahe hon, jin logon ne aapki pehchan ko chhipane ka prayas kiya ho aur jinhone sadaiv aapki pehchan ke saath bhedbhao kiya ho, aise logon ko kabhi maaf kiye jaane ki aavashyakta nahi hai aur isiliye hum aapke paas aaye hain… Ayodhya ko uska gaurav milna hi chahiye (Those who have been threatening your identity, who have tried to hide it and those who have always discriminated against your identity, there is no need to forgive them… This is why we have come to you… Ayodhya must get its pride),” he told the gathering.

“Ayodhya has given Diwali to the world, but Diwali disappeared from Ayodhya… Hence, our entire government came to Ayodhya to celebrate Diwali.. We have already laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs 137 crore in Ayodhya, and more will be brought, once the elections are over. Ayodhya will get international recognition,” said Adityanath. He added that people across the world recognise Ayodhya as the city of temples and the state government has made arrangements to clean the city and ghats, develop roads, make drinking water available and hold aarti at Saryu river. Adityanath said that almost 30 per cent of UP’s population lived in the 653 urban local bodies. “Even the remaining 70 per cent bank on the urban local bodies for many necessities… The funds coming from the Centre and the state must be utilised for the welfare of the public… If the BJP constitutes the board (in urban local bodies), we can fulfil the road map of holistic development that we have drawn for the state,” he added.

Also read | Secular word is the biggest lie, says Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath 

Adityanath alleged that state governments, in the last 15 years, had ignored urban local bodies and deprived people of basic civic amenities. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to develop 13 cities in UP as smart cities but the previous government did not cooperate… It did not even accept funds for the development of amenities and showed no interest in construction of houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Also, under the previous government, contracts meant for works under urban local bodies used to be allocated from Lucknow,” he said.

The CM said projects will be taken up according to the ‘sankalp patra’ (poll manifesto) of the party. “The work will be monitored both by the government and the party… If anyone does anything wrong, then both would be ready with sticks,” he added. Urging the sants of Ayodhya to seek votes for BJP candidates, the CM said: “Ayodhya’s identity is associated with you, and your identity is associated with Ayodhya… Make door-to-door visits and appeal to the people to vote for the party candidate… work to elect a board that has absolute majority in Ayodhya Nagar Nigam…”

The event was also attended by Raju Das of Hanuman Garhi. Earlier, after BJP denied him a ticket for the Ayodhya mayor’s seat, Das had announced that he will contest on a Shiv Sena ticket. He, however, withdrew two days later. Adityanath on Tuesday thanked him for supporting the BJP candidate. Later, the CM addressed rallies in Gonda and Bahraich. On Wednesday, he will address a rally in Kanpur.