Lucknow, March 29 – In a veiled attack on Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said what right did he have to talk about development in Noida, given his "superstitious" beliefs.
In certain circles within Uttar Pradesh politics, there's a superstition that any chief minister who visits Noida loses power.
Adityanath attended a program in Lok Bhavan where appointment letters were distributed to 665 newly selected nursing officers at the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences.
Addressing the gathering, Adityanath said, "These people who believe in superstitions dare to question India's faith? While he was chief minister, he never visited that place.
"Yet today, driven by divisive politics, he arrived in Noida and Greater Noida. Back then, he acted as an impediment to the region's development and created obstacles and barriers. With what right do they speak of development today?" Adityanath said.
The UP CM's remarks came a day after the inauguration of the Noida International Airport on Saturday. During the inauguration ceremony, Modi also criticized the previous SP government for "turning Noida into an ATM for loot" during its tenure and accused opposition leaders of avoiding Noida due to "superstitions".
Yadav countered, alleging that the BJP has inaugurated seven airports in the state, but six of them are not operational. In a rally in Dadri in Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Sunday, the SP chief also dismissed remarks on his alleged superstition that he did not visit Noida when he was the CM.
The UP chief minister said that people assume he is superstitious because he wears saffron robes. He said he is respectful towards faith but does not believe in superstitions.
Adityanath said he was once advised not to visit Noida due to a belief that CMs lose their post after visiting the place. He said he went against the advice, saying that "one has to leave the post one day anyway, so why fear it".
Alleging that the SP botched several projects during its tenure, he said the project to set up the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow was pegged at Rs 200 crore, but even after spending a "staggering" Rs 800 crore, the project remains incomplete.
"This is the Samajwadi Party's model of development. A project originally estimated at Rs 200 crore ended up costing Rs 800 crore. With what audacity do they speak of development?" Adityanath said.
The estimated cost for the Gomti River Front project was Rs 300 crore but Rs 1,400 crore was spent, the chief minister alleged.
Referring to the Jewar airport, he said the government decided to build Asia's largest airport as UP's population is the largest. He added that when fully operational, it will directly employ 1 lakh young people.
"This airport was built in the area known as the crime capital of not only Uttar Pradesh but the country before 2017. Heinous crimes of all kinds were rampant there. Every activity would stop after 5 pm. A curfew-like atmosphere prevailed until 10 am.
"And today, due to the speed of this double-engine government, its strong willpower, within just nine years, we made Uttar Pradesh the best investment destination for the country and the world," he said.
Adityanath said now every major institution in the country and the wider world wants to come here.
"In today's age, the entire world is helpless without semiconductors. Just as the world feels helpless without oil, the world is just as helpless without semiconductors. And now, they will be built in Uttar Pradesh.
"Could anyone have imagined this before 2017? Why? All the work couldn't be done before 2017. Because there was no thinking, no willpower... They didn't want to do it before. Even today, they don't have the willpower.
Instead, they are disrupting work that is being done." Adityanath said the state that used to be "BIMARU" (sick) has been transformed into the growth engine of India's economy.
"A state that lacked funds to pay salaries now has a revenue surplus.
Despite being the country's most populous state, it ranked lowest in per capita income, among the bottom five or six. The same state is now among the top three economies in the country."
Adityanath said his government also takes strict action against people who try to tamper with the government job recruitment process.
Listing out other government work, Adityanath said 500 people from a village on the India-Nepal border in Bahraich were rehabilitated recently and were provided with land, houses and financial assistance of Rs 21 lakh per family.
He added that facilities in hospitals and medical colleges have improved as compared to before, with recruitment to them based on merit.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, UP minister Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh and Additional Chief Secretary (Medical Health and Education) Amit Ghosh were among the dignitaries present at the event, a statement said.