People's mandate for taking on new challenges, says Yogi

LUCKNOW: Minutes after getting elected as leader of the BJP legislative party, CM-designate

Yogi Aditanath

on Thursday said that a big mandate from people was not about "prestige" but has brought new challenges.

Addressing a gathering of newly elected BJP MLAs, in the presence of Union home minister and observer Amit Shah, Yogi said it was now time to run the government as per the expectations of the people by implementing public welfare schemes effectively.

"We faced the challenge to turn 'kushashan' (bad governance) into 'sushasan' (good governance). Now, we have to strengthen 'sushasan' even further," he said. "I promise to serve the people with full honesty and dedication," he declared.

Lashing out the previous government for doing the politics of casteism, Yogi stated, “During the Covid-19 pandemic, it was a dream for the poor to get ration. But our government provided free ration to 15 crore people in UP without any discrimination. Despite all the false propaganda spread by the opposition parties, the public gave a befitting reply to them.”

Yogi maintained that "a lot was still required to be done" for the various communities, including youth, women and farmers, besides strengthening the cultural nationalism for which UP is known. "We are required to work like a 'sevak' (servant) and not like a 'malik' (owner). We should be custodian of establishments," he asserted.

Crediting PM Narendra Modi's leadership and popularity for the victory of BJP, Yogi said that it was an "able guidance" and "guardianship" of PM Modi and the then BJP chief Amit Shah that allowed him to perform even though he did not had experience of running the government in his first term between 2017-22.

Yogi said the BJP was able to accomplish its victory because of well-coordinated efforts by the state government and the party organisation. He said that an atmosphere of security and effective implementation of the social welfare schemes ensured the return of BJP to power.

He said that an overarching BJP leadership enabled him to bring in "good governance", "introduce necessary reform" to set UP as a "model of governance". He categorically flayed the previous government for maligning the image of UP by not implementing various welfare schemes. "UP appeared to be a barrier for growth of the country as a whole," he said. "This is not the case anymore and the state is heading towards progressive growth," he said.

Yogi said that it was for the first time that people of UP could celebrate festivals peacefully, the state could be made free of riots and a poor get free ration. "People may not react but they tend to answer at the right time," he said, in an apparent reference to the overwhelming win of the BJP and its allies in the UP polls.

"This was despite opposition attempts of spreading rumours," he said, crediting PM Modi's ideals of "Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas" of changing the perception of people who eventually denounced the politics of appeasement, caste and nepotism. With this election, the BJP also showed that elections can be "fought and won on nationalism and good governance", he added.