Wipe out SP from west UP: Amit Shah in Muzaffarnagar

The senior BJP leader claimed that in 2014, when he was in charge of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, there was a migration of people from Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, and Saharanpur.

“Before you voted the BJP to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, was there not the migration of people out of fear from the two districts? The criminal elements had an upper hand over the law enforcers. The scenario changed after Yogi Adityanath became the chief minister. The terror of goons has ended, and the migration has stopped. Now, instead of innocent citizens, criminals and mafia elements have started migrating from Uttar Pradesh,” Shah said.

Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Shah accused the SP and its ally Congress of not being in favour of the construction of the temple. “Akhilesh Yadav ji’s party (SP) and the Congress never wanted the Ram temple to be built in Ayodhya. The Congress kept the issue of Ram Janmabhoomi stuck for 70 years, but Modi ji won the case, performed bhoomi pujan and also the consecration of Ram Lalla,” Shah said, adding the country appreciated Modi for the abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Targeting the Opposition INDIA bloc, Shah said: “Those part of the arrogant alliance are the ones involved in scams and corruption worth Rs 12 lakh crore… they (INDIA bloc) held a rally where they talked about giving protection to the corrupt… Today, I am telling the entire people of Uttar Pradesh from this platform that in 2014, Modiji said that those who have committed corruption will go to jail and in 2024 also he is saying the same thing. The aim of the Opposition is to make people from their families chief ministers and prime ministers. The aim of Modiji is to make the poor, farmers, helpless, Dalits and tribals strong and stand on their feet.”

Shah, who began his speech by mentioning late Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, said that he chose to campaign from west UP – the sugarcane belt —  as “like Chaudhary saheb, Modiji always thinks about the uplift of farmers”.

Claiming that during the previous governments of SP and BSP, sugar mills in the region were being shut, Shah said: “After BJP was voted to power in 2017, a total of 20 closed sugar mills were re-opened and five new ones were opened.”

“Remember when the Congress was in power, the FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) of sugarcane was Rs 210 per quintal and today Modiji has increased it to Rs 340 per quintal… As far as payment is concerned, from 1995 to 2017, the average payment was Rs 23,000 crore and today the BJP has done the work of paying Rs 2.50 lakh crore for sugarcane,” he claimed, adding “Modiji has brought a lot of changes within this sector by making a national policy for sugarcane.”

“In 2014-15, ethanol was not mixed in petrol, but due to a policy of the Modi government, today 156 crore litres of ethanol is mixed in petrol, which has increased the income of sugarcane farmers,” he added.

The BJP has fielded Union minister Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar.

The 14 seats of west UP will vote in the first two phases of Lok Sabha elections on April 19 and April 26.  The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

— With PTI Inputs