ULB polls: Yogi Adityanath launches campaign for 2nd phase from Maghar

Sant Kabir Nagar: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said Maghar, a town in Sant Kabir Nagar district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, was once considered a gateway to "hell" but the BJP government has worked to develop it into a "heaven".

Launching his campaign for the second phase of the urban local body polls here, Adityanath said animals used to die after drinking water from Aami river six years ago, but today it is clean, pure and uninterrupted.

"Death in Maghar used to mean going to 'nark' (hell), but saint Kabir changed that notion and it became heaven in the double-engine government. The double-engine government has set up Saint Kabir Academy to promote research on his values and ideals, including social equality and harmony,” the chief minister said.

The first phase of the ULB polls will be held on May 4 and the second phase on May 11. The counting of votes will be done on May 13. Adityanath has been leading the BJP campaign for the local polls, holding several election meetings for party candidates in various parts of the state.

"People will feel that the chief minister himself is coming to campaign in the municipal elections. Yes, I am coming because the money will be sent from Delhi and Lucknow and we want the money to be put to the best use in the interest of the public," he said.

"There was money even before 2017, but the poor did not get houses. Money was wasted. It went to the pockets of a few for 70 years. Otherwise, every poor person would have had a toilet and a house by now. There would have been proper arrangements for drainage in urban areas," he alleged.

Speaking about infrastructure development, Adityanath said the link expressway of the Purvanchal Expressway goes to Gorakhpur via Sant Kabir Nagar.

"We did not discriminate when it came to development. We did not look at one's caste or religion to provide them benefits of government schemes," he said, according to an official statement.

"An industrial corridor will be built here. With the setting up of plants, new employment opportunities will be created," he said, adding that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi India has the ability to lead on the global stage.

Adityanath alleged that previous governments "allowed firing" at farmers and shut down the Munderwa Sugar Mill but his dispensation reopened it.

He also repeated his allegation that "people belonging to a particular party" used to extort money from traders at gunpoint before 2017. "We gave a security insurance cover of Rs 10 lakhs by forming a Traders Welfare Board. Today no goon has a pistol in his hand rather the youths of the state carry a tablet in their hand," he added.