PRATAPGARH (UP), Feb 23: Launching a scathing attack on Akhilesh Yadav, BJP national president J P Nadda on Wednesday said the Samajwadi Party chief betrayed the people of Uttar Pradesh by withdrawing cases against those booked under terrorism charges. “Akhilesh Ji, these days, is seeking votes and talking about development. Till now, he had only developed his family, but now he has realised that Uttar Pradesh should be developed. He will not bring ‘vikas’ (development), but ‘vinash’ (destruction) in the state,” he said at an election meeting here. The BJP leader also asked the audience, “Did 200 riots not take place during the five-year rule of the Akhilesh Yadav government?” Referring to the withdrawal of terror cases against two men belonging to Azamgarh and Jaunpur in connection with the 2007 bomb blasts in Gorakhpur and at court compounds in Ayodhya, Lucknow and Varanasi, he said, “I am posing these questions to Akhilesh Yadav. When he comes here, media should seek an answer from him.” Sharpening his attack on the SP chief, Nadda said, “Can you let such a person who releases terrorists be the chief minister? The case of CRPF camp attack in Rampur was also withdrawn in 2012… the then CM gave shelter to terrorists, saved them and withdrew the cases against them. “Akhilesh, in the order withdrawing the case, had said that it was done for communal harmony — I have never seen such a patriotic person, this is how you are serving Uttra Pradesh. Is it not betraying the people?” he said. The BJP president added that it is the responsibility of the people to make such people sit at home. Taking potshots at the Congress, he said the Indian National Congress (INC) is no longer “bharatiya” or “rashtriya”, but has been reduced to a party of “bhai-behen”, in an apparent reference to the brother-sister duo of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for going to the masses with his report card and talking about the promises fulfilled by him, Nadda said the saffron party started this trend of candidates talking about the development work undertaken by the Modi government. “Have you heard any other party candidate talking about the work undertaken by them? Only BJP has this strength. Other parties can only talk about how they have helped their families, houses and relatives, but not the people,” he said. Stressing the importance of voting, the BJP national president said at the meeting, “Your finger has a lot of strength, you had given victory to two candidates in 2019 Lok Sabha polls from here — Vinod Sonker and Sangam Lal Gupta — and they used their fingers to abrogate Article 370 and contributed in this work on behalf of this region.” He also went on to add that the Samajwadi Party (SP) had opened fire on ‘Ram Bhakts’ and the Congress had kept the Ram Janmabhoomi issue pending for long. “You used your finger to vote for the BJP and Modi ji ensured that the pending work was taken up as soon as the Supreme Court verdict came and a grand temple is being made there (Ayodhya),” he told the audience. Terming the BJP government as the champion of development, Nadda said youth will get 60 lakh jobs in one year if the party is voted back to power in the state. Polling in Pratapgarh is slated for the fifth phase of voting on February 27. (PTI)n
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