Yogi slams opposition for being unaware about farmers’ problems

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday slammed the opposition saying that those who eat with silver spoons are unaware of the problems of poor, farmers, and the Dalits.

“How will you understand the farmers’ pain? Everyone in the country is aware of how you treated the backward communities. The mandate given by the people in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2022 prove this,” he said while replying to a debate on farmers in the state assembly.

Around 33 members shared their views on issues such as floods and drought.

“I have been listening to the Leader of Opposition for the last one hour. In a one-hour speech on flood and drought issues, he only mentioned Gorakhpur's water logging and nothing else,” the Chief Minister said.

Dushant Kumar aptly said, “tumrahe paer ke neeche koi zameen nahi hai aur kamal ye hai ki fir bhi tumhein yakeen nahi hai,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that former prime minister late Chaudhary Charan Singh believed that the country’s path to development is through the streets of the villages.

“If Samajwadi Party had even considered Chaudhary Charan Singh's words during its tenure, it is likely that Uttar Pradesh would not have witnessed such a high incidence of farmer suicides,” the Chief Minister said.

Taking a dig at SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav, the Chief Minister said: “History has shown that when the struggle for power in the family intensifies, some things will come to the fore. We sympathise with Shivpal ji. Injustice has been done to you. These people will not even do you justice.”

“Except for the initial rains this year, the rains cannot be described as favourable or good. We have already developed our strategy by holding a meeting. Many crops have been damaged as a result of flooding in the Himalayan rivers. Orders for its assessment have also been issued. Action is being taken in this regard.

“UP is in much better shape than the rest of the country. UP is the only region in the country and the world where 86 per cent of the land is irrigated by canals, government, and private tube wells. The normal percentage of agricultural sowing has reached 88 per cent. Paddy Nursery has also been entirely cultivated. There may have been a loss due to less rain, but the government's action is moving forward on this,” the Chief Minister said.

He gave details of the compensation that his government has provided to farmers affected by calamity.

He also pointed out that apart from floods, about 40 districts of the state faced drought like conditions and the government is helping farmers here also.

He said that Encephalitis claimed the lives of 50,000 children in Eastern Uttar Pradesh over a span of 40 years.

“The Samajwadi Party (SP) had the opportunity to govern the state four times. It is alarming to note that 90 per cent of the deceased children came from Dalits, minorities, and the most backward castes. Was there no ‘PDA’ (pichde, Dalit and alpashankhak) here? What were your chief ministers doing then? And you also got a chance of five years,” he said.

He said that his government has completely eradicated encephalitis in its first term. Encephalitis is no longer present in Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Siddharth Nagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti, Bahraich, Balrampur, Shravasti, Gonda, Pilibhit, Lakhimpur, and Saharanpur.

“We inherited a dilapidated health system but facilities have improved over time The public did not trust you, which is why they rejected you.”

Slamming the Samajwadi leadership, Yogi Adityanath said: “Between 2012 and 2017, the people of the state were victimized by the rivalry between uncle and nephew. Because the nephew feared that the uncle would become dominant, he withheld financial assistance.

“This is the reason why eight projects were completed between 2012 and 2017. Between 2017 and 2022, we have completed 20 projects. For the first time last year, we provided a 50 per cent discount on electricity bills. What were you doing then? You did nothing and did not even want to do anything,” he said.

“Before 2017, electricity was only available in VIP districts. The remaining districts were deprived of it. Today, there is a uniform electricity supply in all districts in Uttar Pradesh. District headquarters receive 23 to 24 hours of supply, tehsils receive 20 to 22 hours, and rural areas receive 16 to 18 hours of supply consistently since 2017.”