Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his visit to Ghazipur on Friday. (Express Photo)Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said corruption was in the “genes” of the parties that ruled the state before 2017 and warned that the corrupt would meet the same fate as those involved in riots.
The BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. Prior to it, the state was ruled by the Samajawadi Party (2012-2017) and BSP (2007-2012).
Addressing a public gathering in Jaunpur, where he inaugurated and laid foundation stones for projects, Adityanath said: “Corruption was in the genes of governments before 2017. Earlier, the government schemes were made to benefit one’s own contractors and aides… The ‘daam’ (price) of every ‘kaam’ (work) was already fixed. The racket had made the entire system hollow, by acting like a weevil. The results of this were known to everyone, and people of UP had to pay the price for it.”
“The people have accepted the UP model. There is no place for crime and criminals in the state. Uttar Pradesh is now a riot-free state… UP is the first state which has taught a lesson to the rioters that if they indulge in rioting, they will be deprived of the property made by their earlier generations. And, we are going to take this fight to corrupt people. We want that the property made by the corrupt should be used for the public, and there is a need to take forward a big campaign in this regard,” he said.
In Ghazipur, the CM invoked Maharishi Vishwamitra, and said India could develop by giving respect to “our ancestors and heritage”.
He also said that districts like Ghazipur and Azamgarh, despite having a rich heritage, faced an “identity crisis” as “evil forces” diminished their identity.
“But Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave respect to the heritage and named the university in Ghazipur after Maharishi Vishwamitra, while a college in Azamgarh was named after Maharaj Suheldev who fought against foreign powers,” the CM added.
Unveiling a statue of educationist Rajeshwar Prasad Singh in Ghazipur, Adityanath said PM Modi implemented the National Education Policy (NEP) to ensure that youth become capable of practical and technical knowledge. “56 per cent of our state’s population belongs to the working class, and the government is working its best to give a platform to talent and the energy of youth through implementation of NEP, the establishment of new universities, colleges, Abhyudaya scheme etc,” the CM said, adding his government provided tablets and smartphones to 15 lakh youth, and the target is to provide tablets to two crore youth in the next five years.
The CM claimed that in the last five years, five lakh youth were given government jobs in the state despite the Covid-19 pandemic. “Another about 1.61 crore youth were given job opportunities through various MSME units, industrial sectors,” he added.
With PTI inputs