Maximum riots in UP during SP rule, not one during BJP tenure: Adityanath

Farrukhabad, Feb 13: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said Uttar Pradesh saw the maximum number of riots during the Samajwadi Party rule and only the incumbent BJP government kept such incidents under check.

He also said since vaccines against COVID-19 saved lives, votes should also go to "Yogi and Modi vaccines".

In his addresses at the election rallies in Rajepur and Kamalganj here, Adityanath called the SP "a party of rioters" and said the maximum number of riots in the state took place during the previous government as the Akhilesh Yadav-led party patronized anti-social elements.

After the BJP government assumed power, he said, effective curbs were implemented, which is why "not a single incident of rioting took place in five years".

Referring to Kavad Yatra, an annual pilgrimage of Lord Shiva devotees, the chief minister said curfews were being clamped during the procession earlier. However, under the BJP rule, the yatra was being taken out with much fanfare.

He said the "double-engine government" of the BJP at the Centre and state reached out to the public during the pandemic even when the SP, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress spread "propaganda" against the vaccines.

The third wave of COVID-19 did not harm the people only because of the vaccine, Adityanath said, adding, "If the vaccine has saved lives, then the votes should also be given to the Yogi and Modi vaccines.'' Referring to the action taken by his government against criminals, Adityanath said the government's formula is "development on the one hand and bulldozer on the other".

Addressing a rally in Kamalganj in support of Bhojpur Legislative Assembly candidate Nagendra Singh Rathore, the chief minister alleged that the SP government wanted to make Bhojpur "Islamabad". "Today, every section of the society is reaping the benefits of development," he said.