In first cabinet meet, UP CM Yogi Adityanath extends free ration scheme by another three months

In the first major decision of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, the state cabinet on Saturday decided to extend the free ration scheme initiated during the Covid pandemic by three more months. The program was supposed to expire in March.

A total of 15 crore people are benefiting from the program in the state, Adityanath said. The program was an important narrative in the just-concluded Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

CM Adityanath will also address Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and top officials later today at Yojana Bhawan, Lucknow.

Earlier on Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel had appointed Ramapati Shastri as the Protem Speaker of the state Legislative Assembly. A four-member panel selected the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ex-minister and MLA Shastri as the Protem Speaker.

The governor administered the oath of Protem speaker on Saturday. 

Earlier on Friday, Adityanath took oath as the chief minister of the state in a jam-packed Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium having a crowd of more than 50,000 in attendance.

A total of 52 ministers took oath as ministers, including two deputy chief ministers.

Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak took oath as the Deputy Chief Ministers of the state.

The BJP retained power in Uttar Pradesh by winning 255 out of 403 constituencies, securing a 41.29 per cent vote share. 

Yogi Adityanath - Uttar Pradesh CM 

Born Ajay Singh Bisht in Pauri Garhwal’s Panchur (now Uttarakhand), on June 5, 1972, Adityanath left home in 1990 to join the campaign to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He also became a disciple of Mahant Avaidyanath of the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur.

After Avaidyanath’s death in 2014, he took over as the head of the Gorakhnath 'math', a post he still holds and makes frequent trip to the eastern UP town.

In Gorakhpur, he founded his own band of volunteers, called the Hindu Yuva Vahini.

Adityanath went to school in his native village and later completed his bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University.

He entered politics on the directions of his guru in 1998 and at 28 became the youngest Lok Sabha member, winning from Gorakhpur.

He went on the represent the parliamentary seat four more times till he became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh on March 19, 2017.

He was then elected to the state legislative council so that he could continue as the CM. In 2022, however, he fought and won the assembly election from Gorakhpur Urban constituency.

Also Read | Yogi Adityanath: 'Bulldozer Baba’ comes back stronger

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