LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that the so-called Opposition unity will bear no fruits since there are incorrigible differences between those who have united with an aim to defeat the Narendra Modi-powered BJP.
In an exclusive interview with Zee Media, the firebrand monk-politician made a blistering attack on the Congress party, which is trying to unite the like-minded secular parties in order to defeat the formidable BJP.
''Only political parties have come together, there is no meeting of hearts. Even a child knows that ever since the BJP government has come to power in the Centre, the security scenario has changed completely. Today, the farmers are with us, the Jats are with us and all those who want peace are with BJP,'' the UP CM said.
When asked to comment if the by-elections in UP's politically sensitive Kairana Lok Sabha seat on May 28 will be a precursor to the 2019 Lok Sabha battle, the saint-politician said, ''I don't know. This is the seat represented by our late MP Hukum Singh Ji. W just want to take his legacy forward here.''
To a question pertaining to the alleged extortion threats to 12 UP MLAs by a Dawood Ibrahim-linked gangster, the veteran BJP leader said, ''We have constituted a SIT to look into the matter. We have also asked the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) to act swiftly in this regard.''
The MLAs, most of whom are from the ruling BJP, had complained that they got text and WhatsApp messages asking them to pay Rs 10 lakh or their families will be eliminated within three days.
The UP Chief Minister also made a scathing attack on the previous government led by Samajwadi Party for riots across the state and the exodus of Hindus from Muslim-dominated Kairana.
''The riots in Kairana and other parts of the state occurred due to the alleged misgovernance and the appeasement policy of the previous government. Under the Samajwadi Party government, Hindus were implicated in false cases, they were murdered and forced to flee from Kairana. However, the situation has changed ever since the BJP came to power in UP. Our only agenda is development and nothing else. We are giving the dues of sugarcane farmers in Kairana. We have received Rs 300 crore investment proposal for Shamli alone during the recent Investors Summit,'' he added.
UP Chief Minister also attacked NDA ally Shiv Sena and accused it of "back-stabbing" the BJP.
He said Sena's actions are contrary to teachings of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, revered as Hindutva idol by the saffron party.
The UP CM's remarks came hours after JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy was sworn-in as Karnataka Chief Minister at a grand ceremony attended by a galaxy of top leaders and regional satraps in a rare public show of unity perceived as a possible harbinger of a broad-based anti-BJP alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
"I urge the voters to vote for BJP, whose government under PM Modi's leadership is capable of taking India on the path of progress," he said. "The symbol of this progress can be only lotus (BJP's symbol) and nothing else. There is an attempt to create an atmosphere against the BJP," he said.
"By God's grace, the Congress has been decimated in the country," he said, adding that the "enemies of development and good governance will also meet the same fate".
