Opposition parties promoted 'one district one mafia policy' in UP: CM

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday accused the opposition parties of corruption and promoting a policy of "one district, one mafia" during their tenure in contrast to his government's focus on development and zero-tolerance against crime. Addressing an event Gorakhpur, the chief minister questioned the critics of his government's tree plantation drive. "I want to ask those who question the tree plantation program. When they had the opportunity, they could do nothing. They made schemes a center of corruption, a center of loot," said Adityanath. "Today our government is giving one district, one product, one district, one crop and these people, whether it was the Samajwadi Party, Congress or Bahujan Samaj Party, their governments gave one district, one mafia," he added.

Alleging that these parties "worked to spread poison in society in the name of nepotism", the chief minister claimed, "These mafias indulged in illegal felling of forests, illegal mining, grabbed lands, wreaked havoc with anarchy and oppressed the poor." "Now the result of a zero-tolerance policy against mafia tendencies is being seen across the country. It is a result of that there is no identity crisis for the youth of the state," he asserted.

Adityanath also specifically targeted the previous Samajwadi Party government over the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow. "There is a JPNIC in Lucknow. JP was known for Gandhian ideology, for value-based politics in the country. He advocated for establishing values and ideals in politics, and fought against the model of nepotism. The Samajwadi Party worked to defame such a leader," he said. The chief minister highlighted alleged financial irregularities related to the project. "Remember the JPNIC Center built in Lucknow, its cost was only Rs 200 crore and by March 2017, Rs 860 crore had been spent and it is still not complete," he said. Launching a scathing attack on former chief minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Adityanath said, "A CBI inquiry is ongoing and that is why babua (child) is furious that their loot, their corruption, is being exposed."