Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked voters in Uttar Pradesh to give “top priority” to the issue of law and order as he cited examples from Gujarat where he had headed the State government for many years to pitch a “riot-free” atmosphere under Yogi Adityanath for a second term. In a veiled appeal for communal unity, Mr. Modi also asked people to “stay united” and not allow their votes to be “divided” in the name of jati (caste) and sampradaya (sect or community).
The PM backed the return of not just the BJP government in U.P. but also that of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “The entire U.P. and country knows that ‘ayegi toh BJP hi, ayenge toh Yogi hi’,” Mr. Modi said in Kannauj. Addressing a rally in the city known for potatoes and perfume, Mr. Modi said after the first phase of voting in western U.P., the 2022 U.P. election was no longer about who was coming to power but about how many more seats the BJP would win than the last time and form a full majority government again.
Much of Mr. Modi’s focus was on law and order. He recalled the apparent change in Gujarat after the BJP came to power in the western State. Under the Congress rule in Gujarat, no trader or businessman was growing, people did not feel safe, and riots and arson took place often and for every small issue, which were followed by curfews, the PM said. “Murders had become common. People were forced to leave entire localities. And after that these empty homes were purchased at cheap prices and the identity of the locality was changed,” Mr. Modi said, hinting at communal divisions.
Gujarat was stuck in this “vicious circle” for long but things started to change when the BJP got a chance to rule and gave priority to law and order and rule of law, he said.
“This is why in the last two decades, there has been no big riot in Gujarat,” the PM said. In the context of U.P., he said people had recognised that only the BJP government has the “remedy” for rioters, goons and rogues.
Mr. Modi said the voting in the first phase of the Assembly election had robbed the sleep and dreams of dynasts who had imagined they would divide votes through jativad (casteism) and sampradayvad (communalism). “But I am happy that people are voting as one against the mafiavadi and danga vadi,” Mr. Modi said.
The PM praised Mr. Adityanath for stopping riots in U.P. and asked voters to give this a “permanent form” and not allow such “activities to flourish” in the State.
