UP Assembly special session: Yogi slams opposition for boycott

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday slammed the opposition for boycotting the special session of the state Assembly marking the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Speaking at the beginning of the special marathon session that will continue for 36 hours and will discuss ways and means to achieve the 17 sustainable goals enlisted by the UN, Adityanath said: "The opposition has shown disrespect not only to Mahatma Gandhi but also to the common people of this state because the discussion on sustainable goals would have worked to the favour of the poor."

The Chief Minister said that Gandhi embodied qualities that made him a global entity.

"I am most surprised at the Congress decision to boycott the session since this party claims to be Gandhi's legacy. They have remained in power in the name of Gandhi and now they are boycotting a session dedicated to Gandhi which is shameful.

"We talk of peace and they talk of terrorism; we talk of self reliance and they talk of power in limited hands. Their politics is not in national interest but in the interest of a few and they are concerned about vote bank politics," he said.

He said that the 17 sustainable goals of the UN would be discussed in this marathon session and will help us evolve a policy that would benefit the last man in the line.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swachh Bharat' campaign had already worked wonders' in health and sanitation sector, especially in curbing encephalitis deaths in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The UN's SDGs include no poverty, zero hunger, good health, quality education, gender equality, clean water, affordable energy, economic growth, industry and infrastructure, reduced inequality, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace and justice strong institutions and partnership to achieve those goals.

Meanwhile, Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit, also slammed the opposition and said that when this proposal was put up at an all party time, all opposition parties have not only given their consent but had even lauded the idea.

"The opposition has gone back on their signed consent in the biggest state legislature in the country which is not a healthy sign. The opposition should realize that issues like Gandhi and development are above party politics," he said.