Farmers Movement Archive

PM Narendra Modi tears into SP with ‘cycle of corruption’ taunt

LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday renewed his attack on Samajwadi Party, clearly identifying it as BJP's main opponent, playing on the party's symbol, saying that the "cycle of corruption" had ground down the poor and middle classes. The sharp comments, months ahead of the UP assembly elections, saw the Prime Minister targeting SP rather than Mayawati's BSP, the other big regional outfit that used to compete with SP for office in UP, and Congress that is seen as lagging the others. SP's loyal Yadav base, likely Muslim support and useful alliances with parties like RLD in west UP, where a section of farmers has mobilised against the Centre's farm laws, is seen to make it a more potent rival. "Bhrashtachar ki cycle to khoob chali...aur us mein gareeb aur madhyam varg pista chala gaya (the cycle of corruption operated fast, crushing poor and the middle class)." Modi’s fresh barb at SP came less than a week after he accused the previous Akhilesh Yadav government of deviating from the pro-poor principles of socialist stalwarts like Ram Manohar Lohia. "Earlier, there was corruption all around...corruption in medicine supply, corruption in ambulance procurement, corruption in appointment of doctors and their transfer and posting," he said, adding that "few parivarwadis' "benefited a lot" in this entire game of corruption. His speech could be seen as taking a few digs at other rivals but the focus was on SP as he sought to remind voters of the previous SP government and the ‘contrast’ BJP offers. He also accused SP of “playing politics” to stop the BJP government at the Centre from improving health facilities in the state. The previous government, he said, opened small dispensaries which, "most of the time", did not have basic infrastructure and medical staff. “As a result, poor people in small towns and villages had no options but to rush their ailing children and old aged relatives to bigger towns in search of medical facilities,” he said. The PM made a reference to Purvanchal saying that the east UP region was left to be infested with dreaded diseases like Japanese encephalitis over a period of time. He recalled how during his tenure as a Gorakhpur MP, CM Yogi Adityanath told Parliament about the poor health facilities of UP and especially in the eastern part of the state. The same Purvanchal, he said, was poised to become a "medical hub" of eastern India by providing a large number of medical professions to the country as he launched nine medical colleges. Lauding Yogi for working overtime as CM to save the lives of thousands of children who used to die of Japanese encephalitis, Modi said the steps taken by the BJP government projected its “strong political will and clear political priority”. “This happens only when the government is sensitive and understands the pain of the poor," he said. The PM said the "double engine" government of BJP has “honestly attempted” to remove difficulties faced by the poor. He specifically mentioned how 90 lakh people in UP have been benefited by the Ayushman Bharat scheme. "The health projects are also delivered on a timely basis," he said, insisting that the new health policy was aimed to help the poor and save them from a host of diseases. Drawing yet another contrast between the previous SP government and the incumbent Yogi government in UP, Modi said that only six medical colleges opened between 2012-17, while the Yogi government in the last four-and-a-half years of rule has already made 16 medical colleges operational and another 30 are in the pipeline. Modi termed the upcoming AIIMS in Rae Bareli and Gorakhpur as a "bonus" for the state. He also said that the BJP government at the Centre will ensure that the number of doctors passing out of medical colleges in the next 10 to 12 years is more than the numbers in the last 70 years.

The Times of India

2021-10-26

Lucknow