Asked whether the positive outcome would be seen as a referendum on his popularity, Modi said, “BJP believes in collective leadership. It will be a referendum on our performance, intention and conduct.”
PM strongly supports UP CM Yogi Adityanath And denied that the state government was shielding Union Minister Ajay Mishra over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. The PM said, ‘Yogi ji has given priority to security (in UP) and has improved law and order’.
wide coverageModi justified his dramatic decision to withdraw three controversial agricultural reform laws. “I had also said in my address that I am withdrawing the three laws in the national interest. Future events will tell why it became necessary to do so,” the PM said on whether the withdrawal is a personal blow.
He did not agree with the suggestion that being in power could harm the BJP in UP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. Modi said, “Wherever the BJP has got a chance to work with stability, there is an atmosphere of ‘pro-incumbency’ instead of ‘anti-incumbency’. BJP always emerges victorious in elections with a ‘pro-incumbency’. ”
He said that the people of Uttar Pradesh have already thrown out the old principle of ‘one time come, one go’. “BJP itself has experienced that since 2014. People saw the work of our government and we were re-elected in 2017 (assembly) and so on in 2019 (Lok Sabha election) too. Now in 2022 they will see our work and accept us again.”
Modi said- alliance between SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Choudhary There may be no deterrent for the BJP, and recalled that the ruling party had got a Congress-SP alliance in 2017 and an SP-BSP pact in 2019.
“We had seen the ‘two boys’ game earlier (2017 Uttar Pradesh elections) too… They had so much arrogance that they used the words ‘Gujarat ke do gadha’. UP taught them a lesson. And later, they bua. (BSP supremo Mayawati) is with them.”
The PM supported Yogi Adityanath on the allegation that the UP Chief Minister’s approach towards law and order is far from the legal process. “He has done everything as per the procedure. Otherwise there would have been many PILs against him,” he said.
Live Updates: Assembly elections begin today with 58 seats in Jat-dominated areas of UP
On the allegation that the UP government did not take action against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, Modi said the state government has fully complied with the directions of the Supreme Court.
He praised the performance of the Yogi government, spoke of reforms on the law and order front. “People had to face trouble during the previous governments because of mafia raj, goonda raj and political patronage and status given to powerful people,” he said.
“Uttar Pradesh watched it closely, women could not come out. Today women say that they can come out even after dark. This trust is necessary for security. There was a time in Uttar Pradesh when goons could do anything. They could have done what they wanted, today they surrendered. Yogi ji made security a priority and didn’t compromise on it.”
In an important commentary on how caste and communities came up during elections, Modi said: “There has been an intense focus on division and social inequality and how many tickets have gone, which caste has been discussed in detail. There is no discussion with respect to other communities which are considered as a stone. I come from Gujarat and I have seen that there are at least 70 OBC castes among Muslims in the state and they also get benefits. But on these Never talked. It’s time for a debate.
Asked about the polarization and its potential implications for India’s image abroad when it is soliciting foreign investment, the PM made a vociferous remark that the country currently enjoys a solid reputation and it largely independent of the media. “You can see the FDI and FII inflows as well as the feedback on our PLI scheme,” he said.
The PM continued his attack on “nepotism” in politics, as represented by family organizations that are governed by dynastic succession. “Such parties are now all over the country. They represent a threat to democracy by acting as a deterrent to youth, who wish to join politics, but who feel that their future is unaffordable. The paths will be blocked in a party where leadership is decided by hereditary succession. Even those who want to leave the BJP have no choice and that is why our party keeps on growing.”
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