Lucknow, March 30 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the Samajwadi Party of disrespecting constitutional institutions by making comments about the Election Commission, the judiciary, and the prime minister.
He also accused the party of renaming a college in Kannauj named after B.R. Ambedkar, and another in Lucknow named after BSP founder Kanshi Ram.
"In other words, while they could not build institutions themselves, they were experts at changing their names. This stemmed from their deep-seated animosity. Even today, by engaging in such acts, they continue to insult society," Adityanath said at an event where students were receiving scholarship money.
The SP's actions were akin to disrespecting Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, the chief minister alleged.
"They make remarks about the Parliament. They make disparaging comments about the prime minister, the leader who speaks for 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'... To question India's constitutional institutions and to point fingers at India's national symbols means an insult to the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, and the Dalits of India can never accept that," he said.
Adityanath alleged that the SP divided society on caste lines and enriched the Yadav family only when it was in power.
"They did everything solely to sustain and enrich their own family. These are the people who divide society by creating social discord. In the name of appeasement, they played with national security. It was precisely because of their nefarious deeds that this state had become a 'BIMARU' (sick) state," said the BJP leader.
The acronym 'BIMARU' was coined by demographer Ashish Bose in the mid-1980s, formed from the first letters of the names of some of the country's then poorest states, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Adityanath said that the youth of UP once faced an acute identity crisis, but that is no longer the case.
"I can proudly declare that our state no longer suffers from an identity crisis. It is now free from riots. It is free from curfews. Today, Uttar Pradesh stands before the nation and the world with a new identity as that of a growth engine of India's economy and serving as a new model of heritage and development," he asserted.
Since 2017, over Rs 339 crore has been disbursed to more than 10 lakh families, he said, alleging that earlier such money never reached the people it meant to and was usurped by the so-called "socialists".
"The poor remained completely unaware of it. They had no recourse other than to wander and face starvation. The goons, who thrived under the patronage of those in power, ran a parallel government," Adityanath said.
"The Samajwadi Party had the opportunity to govern the state four times. Yet, they displayed absolutely no sense of respect towards a Dalit icon, nor towards a Dalit personality associated with the cause of social justice," he said.
The chief minister alleged that in 2016 and 2017, the ruling SP did not give scholarships to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students because they had robbed the government coffers to such an extent that no money was left.
"Even the amount that came from the central government for scholarships was diverted for the Samajwadi Party's work. When our government came in 2017, we had to provide scholarships for 2016-17 students along with 2017-18," he said.
Adityanath claimed that his government has provided scholarships worth Rs 4,800 crore to 67 lakh children in the financial year 2025-26.
He said that a lack of oversight and the absence of electronic transfers earlier led to massive pilfering in scholarship money.
He said that at the prime minister's insistence on the use of technology, the state was able to transfer Rs 3,350 crore to the accounts of 28 lakh students with a single click.
Adityanath said that before 2017, corruption pervaded every nook of the governance and ate into nutrition for malnourished children, newborns, and new mothers, student scholarships, and development schemes.
"This scholarship is meant so that you can work harder. There can be no substitute for hard work. Scholarship acts as support; it is not your destination, your destination is hard work," he said addressing the students.
Adityanath attacked SP president Akhilesh Yadav for questioning the Rs 1,000 disability pension, alleging that under his government, the amount was a measly Rs 300, never disbursed on time, and when months later it would be in a lump sum, half of it would be pilfered.
"Those who attempt to siphon off funds are well aware that if they dare to rob the poor of their rightful share, their ultimate destination will be jail. The government will seize even their ancestral assets and distribute them among the poor," he said.