On Pahalgam attack, SP leaders sound like Pak spokesmen: CM Yogi

Deoria, April 29 (IANS) Hitting out at the Samajwadi Party and Congress, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday questioned the “anti-national” remarks made by leaders of these parties after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Launching 501 projects worth Rs 676 crore in Deoria on Akshaya Tritiya, CM Adityanath said, “Samajwadi Party leaders’ statements on the Pahalgam attack were such that these appeared to be that of Pakistan’s spokespersons.”

He said the entire country should condemn terrorism in unison. “We have to march ahead under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the resolve of eradicating terror,” he said.

Without naming the SP leader, the CM said when the leader was questioned why he did not go to condole the death of a Kanpur youth killed in Pahalgam, he (SP leader) said the victim did not belong to his party.

CM Yogi also criticised a Mumbai-based SP leader for making a controversial statement on the Pahalgam terror attack.

“The entire nation is criticising the terror attack, but the SP leaders are giving such unfortunate statements on the Pahalgam incident,” he said.

The Chief Minister said a national general secretary of the SP was in such a hurry to give a clean chit to Pakistan on the terror attack that he said that “Hindus have killed Hindus” in Pahalgam, where 26 people were killed on April 22.

Training his guns at the Congress and the SP, CM Yogi said leaders who come to power using caste politics end up indulging in appeasement and promoting their own families.

Highlighting his government’s achievements since 2017, the Uttar Pradesh CM said issues of lawlessness, hunger and lack of development in Deoria have been addressed by the BJP government.

“Earlier, there was sickness, lawlessness and hunger; organising religious events was also difficult,” he said, criticising the previous Samajwadi Party government for allegedly engineering riots.

He also hit out at the SP government for shutting down sugar mills in the area, leading to joblessness and blamed it for setting back the state due to a lack of its commitment to development.

“Under the BJP, the area has been rid of mafia and encephalitis,” the CM said.

“Now, with PM Modi leading the country, this wheel of development will not stop,” he said, highlighting the conduct of Maha Kumbh as an example of the successful implementation of programmes that generate jobs for the youth.

Promising to increase public participation in the state’s development journey, the CM said that before 2017, this constituency and neighbouring Kushinagar were infamous due to cases of encephalitis.

“Today, the area is known for development,” he said, highlighting plans to build highways linking the area to New Delhi.

--IANS

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