'Nakli Samajwad': PM Modi attacks Akhilesh Yadav in first virtual rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday targeted the Samajwadi Party, saying five years ago muscle men and rioters used to be the law unto themselves in Uttar Pradesh. Addressing his first virtual poll rally after the announcement of dates for the assembly elections in the state, Modi said during the previous government when Western Uttar Pradesh was burning due to riots, those in power were celebrating.

"Five years ago, 'dabang' (muscle men) and 'dangai' (rioters) were the law unto themselves. Their saying was the government order. Traders were looted and daughters could not come out of their homes in that period," the Prime Minister said in his virtual programme, addressing the voters of Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Saharanpur and Gautam Budh Nagar where polling will take place in the first phase on February 10.

He said that those who don't believe in India's own Covid vaccine and fuel rumours, "can they respect the talent of Uttar Pradesh's youth?".

PM Modi said that while "we are trying to bring a change in Uttar Pradesh, the opposition wants to take revenge".

Pitching it as 'Nakli Samajwad (fake socialism) versus gareeb ka sarkaar (government of the poor)', PM Modi cited the homes for poor, policies for backward classes, medical colleges, better connectivity through roads and expressways, raising the marriage age for women, and more as the achievements of the BJP governments at in Delhi and Lucknow.

"These days, people dream a lot. Only those who keep sleeping, dream... Yogi Adityanath is awake, committed to working for UP's development," PM Modi said in a veiled attack on Akhilesh Yadav who had claimed that Lord Krishna comes to his dreams every night to "tell me that I will form the government and establish Ram Rajya in Uttar Pradesh".

"We are trying to bring a change in Uttar Pradesh. And the opposition wants to take revenge. These people have given tickets to people who have the riot mentality. Criminals want a friendly government in the state," he said.

Proimising a special fund to complete the incomplete flats in Noida and Greater Noida (Gautam Budh Nagar), he said, "Corruption led to the suffering of thousands who bought flats in the area."

PM Modi said that every poor family is being given free rations under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. "This is the same UP when 5 years ago, ration meant for the poor was stolen from rations shops. Today, the ration is reaching the houses of the poor. This is the change that has come in the last five years," he said.

On farmers, he said that the Yogi Adityanath government has made a record payment to cane farmers in the last five years. "We had set a target of procuring a record quantity of foodgrains from farmers and we had achieved this target. The MSP procurement has seen a more than two-fold increase in the last 5 years," he said.

"We need to worry about small farmers now... have started working towards it. Small farmers will change the rural scene," he said.

In this phase, polling will be held for a total of 58 seats in 11 districts of the state which will include Shamli, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Hapur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Mathura, Agra and Aligarh.

READ MORE: ECI extends ban on road shows, rallies till Feb 11