Takes heart to handle bulldozer: Yogi Adityanath slams Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow/Prayagraj: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday retorted sharply to Akhilesh Yadav's "all bulldozers will head towards Gorakhpur after 2027" remark, saying not everyone has the heart to handle a bulldozer.

Adityanath made this comment responding to the Samajwadi Party chief's Tuesday remark on bulldozer, the machine which has become emblematic of his style of governance.

"As soon as the Samajwadi government is formed in 2027, the bulldozers of the entire state will head towards Gorakhpur (Adityanath's home district)," Yadav had said.

Adityanath said only those with a "bulldozer-like capability" can operate it.

He made these remarks while distributing appointment letters to 1,334 junior engineers, computer operators, and foremen in Lucknow.

"Today these people have come back in a new form to mislead the public. Not everyone's hands can fit on a bulldozer. It requires both 'dil and dimaag'. Only someone who has a bulldozer-like capability and determination can operate it. Those who grovel before the rioters will not be able to stand in front of a bulldozer," he said while addressing the event.

Adityanath also made a pun on Yadav's nickname saying, "Now 'Tipu' is also trying to become a 'Sultan'." He said Yadav's ambition of returning to power in Uttar Pradesh is nothing more than a daydream, and accused the former chief minister and his uncle Shivpal Yadav of indulging in extortion during his rule.

"There used to be a competition between 'chacha-bhatija' in extorting money. Areas between them were divided. I can see that at this time some man-eating wolves are creating havoc in different districts.

"More or less the same situation was in the state before the year 2017," Adityanath said.

Later in the day, Adityanath continued his attack on the Samajwadi Party during a programme in Prayagraj while attending a job fair at the IFFCO campus in Phulpur area.

"These people who are making big announcements are the same people who used to rub their noses in front of the mafias and rioters. Hey, courage is needed to run the bulldozer. Will those who rub their noses in front of the rioters and mafias run the bulldozers," Adityanath said.

"These are the same people who are fighting in the name of caste and are dreaming of becoming Tipu and Sultan again. This was the same Tipu who created a crisis of identity of UP by rubbing his nose in front of the mafia," he said.

Referring to the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in Prayagraj, Adityanath alleged that by embracing mafias "they" created an identity crisis for the people of the state and Prayagraj and these same mafias had killed Pal.

"At the time of Raju Pal's murder, they did not remember the PDA because they were worried about their chair. But we had said that if the mafia dares to raise its head, we will crush it to dust," he added.

Adityanath also appealed to the public "not to make such a mistake" which may again create an identity crisis for Uttar Pradesh.

Prayagraj's Phulpur seat is among the 10 assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh where by-elections are to be held. This seat has fallen vacant after BJP MLA Praveen Patel became an MP.