Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath began his address by congratulating Organiser and Panchjanya on completing 75 years in journalism. He said the magazines that have been blessed by “Rashtra Rishis” like Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee and LK Advani are destined for success. He went on to talk about his long association with the publication, right from his student days, during the Ram Janma Bhoomi Andolan, to the last elections when a lot of media houses got the picture in UP wrong. He talked about the role media plays in the war of civilisations, by choosing to preserve or erode a culture subtly, and the battle of narratives, which is becoming very important in today’s context.

He then went on talk to about Uttar Pradesh, its great spiritual significance for Indians and how it is on its way to becoming the second-largest economy in India. He spoke about the “grand Ram temple” being built in Ayodhya, the “splendour” with which the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex has been rejuvenated, and the overhaul of pilgrimage sites such as  Mathura, Vrindavan and Chitrakoot—making them big tourist attractions.

Talking about Uttar Pradesh becoming the number two economy in the country under a “double engine” government, with the BJP at the helm in the Centre too, he said, “In 70 years, UP has reached the sixth position among economies in the country. In the last 70 years, the per capita income of UP had remained one-fourth of the nation’s. In the past five years, we have doubled it. In ease of doing business, UP has climbed up to No.2 spot in the country. And in ease of living, in 44 schemes, UP is No.1. The maximum infrastructure development is happening in UP and the state is now known as an expressway.”

Coming to his firebrand politics and the significant improvement in the law and order situation in UP, he said, The Eid Namaz was not conducted on roads for the first time in UP, and “the volume of the mosque loudspeaker has gone down”, elaborating the state’s recent crackdown on loudspeakers without permission. He credited the BJP retaining power in UP to the handling of law and order. He spoke about his government’s achievements, especially in avoiding communal clashes that usually occur amid religious festivals. “In many states, there were riots after the elections were over. There were no riots in UP during or after the elections,” he said.

“After the formation of the government, Ram Navami was celebrated with fervour. Hanuman Jayanti celebrations passed off peacefully. This is the same UP where small issues led to riots. Now, you must have seen for the first time that Eid namaz was not held on roads. Now, you must have heard that either the volume of the mosque loudspeaker has gone down or the loudspeaker has been removed completely. Now, these loudspeakers are being donated to schools and hospitals for their use,” he said.

He said that more than 1 lakh loudspeakers have had their volumes turned down or removed.

Adityanath also spoke on the issue of stray management in the state. “You may remember that when our government came to power in the state, it shut down all illegal slaughterhouses. But there was an adverse consequence of this that we had to bear—of stray cattle roaming on the roads and in the fields,” he said.

“Earlier, they were smuggled into illegal slaughterhouses. To meet this challenge, we set up over 5,600 shelters for stray cattle. We are also setting up a new model where we will make CNG from cow dung, which will be bought at Rs 1 per kg from people. We have taken all necessary steps to protect cows,” he said.