UP heading for a major political change
Jan Swabhiman Yatras by Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Mishra receiving huge response
By Pramod Kumar
Keen to regain its political credibility in Uttar Pradesh the BJP launched two Jan Swabhiman yatras on October 13. The yatras, one led by party’s former national president Rajnath Singh and the second by national vice president Kalraj Mishra, have set the stage for major shift in political equations of the state. The first phase of the yatras completed on October 22 and the second phase began on November 9. Both the yatras will conclude in Ayodhya on November 17 with a huge Vijay Sankalp Samagam to be addressed by senior party leaders.
“Going by the overwhelming public response that I received during the yatra, I am sure that the BJP will gain considerably in the coming assembly elections,” Shri Rajnath Singh told Organiser while commenting on the first phase of his yatra. Equally confident Shri Kalraj Mishra said, “People are fed up with the corruption and inflation during the UPA and the BSP regimes. They have understood that only the BJP can provide a people-friendly and clean government. The huge response that I have received during the yatra made us confident that the party is returning to power in Uttar Pradesh.”
Shri Rajnath Singh started the yatra from Deendayal Dham, Mathura, in the presence of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Smt Sushma Swaraj, NDA convener and JD (U) president Sharad Yadav and BJP leader Vinay Katiyar, and he concluded the first phase in Lakhimpur Kheri. Shri Kalraj Mishra started from Bharat Mata Mandir, Varanasi, in the presence of senior party leader Shri LK Advani and ended the first phase in Jalaun. In both these yatras, Shri Singh and Shri Mishra travelled over 4,000 km covering over 200 constituencies for mobilising public support for the 2012 assembly elections.
“The yatras are aimed at establishing a direct contact with the people and drawing their attention towards the misrule and rampant corruption in the Bahujan Samaj Party regime. Since the entire state cabinet is corrupt, a political change is needed. Both our yatras are to cover 61 districts and touch around 370 Assembly constituencies in both the phases,” told state BJP president Shri Surya Pratap Shahi to Organiser.
Beginning from Mathura on October 13, Shri Rajnath Singh visited Agra, Aligarh, Noida, Meerut, Saharanpur, Bijnaur, Chandausi, Bareilly, Shahjahan-pur and concluded at Gola Gokarnnath in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 22. During the second phase he started his yatra from Lucknow and after passing through Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharth Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Devaria, Balia, Ghazipur, Mau, Azamgarh will reach Faizabad on November 16.
Similarly, beginning from Varanasi Shri Kalraj Mishra visited Mughalsarai, Chakia, Aharara, Robertsganj, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Jaunpur, Partaphgarh, Amethi, Sultanpur, Allahabad, Chitrakoot, Banda, Jhansi and concluded in Jalaun on October 22. In the second phase he started the yatra from Hamirpur near Kanpur and passing through Kanpur village, Auraiya, Etawah, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Sitapur, Unnav, Raibareilly, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar, Barabanki will reach Faizabad on November 16.
During the yatra Shri Mishra dubbed the Mayawati government as the most corrupt and the previous Samajwadi Party government as goondaraj. He said the anti-corruption sentiments in public would uproot the BSP government. Shri Rajnath Singh described the ruling BSP and the main opposition SP as puppets in the hands of Congress-led UPA government. “The law and order situation in the state is at its lowest. The best examples are the murders of three chief medical officers in Lucknow and rape and killing of a teenage girl in a police station compound,” he said. Quoting figures from the National Crime Records Bureau of 2009, he said, “A total of 156 people were killed in 637 incidents of police firing, which is more than that of the terror-affected state of Jammu & Kashmir, where only 28 people were killed in 147 police firing incidents. Instead of spending money for the state’s development, the government is spending crores of rupees on memorial parks,” he said.
Shri Singh promised loans to farmers at 1 per cent interest and to youth at 3 per cent for starting businesses. “We have calculated, and I assure you, that after coming to power, we will create 40-50 lakh employment opportunities for youth within four years. And if we are successful in forming a government in the Centre, within one year I assure you that all taxpayers’ money stashed away in foreign banks as black money will be brought back,” he said.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley was present in Lakhimpur Kheri where Shri Rajnath Singh ended the first phase of his yatra on October 22. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Jaitley said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav are facing disproportionate assets cases and the Congress-led UPA government is using the CBI to arm-twist them for their support in the Parliament. He said the UPA is facing a crisis of credibility and suffering from indecisiveness.
Accusing Mayawati of indulging in vendetta politics in villages where the BSP has no base, Smt Sushma Swaraj in Mathura on October 13 said, “We have received complaints that in these villages, people are being falsely framed… She is not respecting the voters’ mandate. She (Mayawati) asked for votes against Mulayum Singh Yadav’s government, assuring the people of good governance. But if we look at the balance sheet of her government’s achievements, we find it is zero,” she said.
Shri Sharad Yadav, in Mathura rally, said Delhi was “being ruined by the Manmohan Singh government and Lucknow by the Mayawati government…. Manmohan Singh’s name should have been Mahangayee Mohan Singh as he failed on this front (to control price rise).”
Speaking at the rally in Varanasi senior BJP leader Dr Murli Manohar Joshi said the Congress government tried to “suppress facts related to corruption when anybody tried to bring them out”. “There is scam everywhere and allegations are being levelled against the CAG after it assessed 2G scam to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 1.76 lakh crore,” he alleged.
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