Won't let cows be slaughtered, also prevent crop damage from cattle: Yogi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday promised to enhance the security of cows, while also ensuring that the state government will help protect farmers' fields from stray cattle.

Adityanath asserted that 'gaushalas' (cow shelters) will be built on a large scale to protect cows.

"We have completely stopped illegal slaughterhouses. I promise that we will not let 'Gaumata' be slaughtered while we'll also protect fields of farmers from stray cattle," the chief minister said, addressing a rally in the Tiloi assembly constituency of Amethi.

Accusing Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav of "maintaining silence" on the alleged connection between his party and the kin of one of the Ahmedabad blast convicts, Adityanath reiterated his charge that "the terrorist's family is a campaigner of the Samajwadi Party."

He also questioned the SP for allegedly extending support to the terrorists, saying "Sapa ka haath aakhir kyun hai aatankiyon ke saath?"

"The first decision taken by us in 2017 was to waive loans of growers. In contrast, the SP government had taken steps to withdraw cases lodged against 'terrorists' who attacked the Ram Janmabhoomi. Supporting SP means encouraging terrorism," the firebrand BJP leader said.

He also said every single vote to the SP is like "ruining the future".

The chief minister accused the previous SP government of favouring a particular community, saying electricity in the state used to be supplied on Eid and Muharram, but cut off on Holi and Diwali.

Taking a dig at the SP, he said whenever there were job vacancies in Uttar Pradesh before 2017, the 'Saifai family' used to move out for extortion. "Our government provided 5 lakh government jobs to the youth".

Saifai village in Etawah district is the birthplace of SP founder and Akhilesh Yadav's father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Development had never been on the agenda of the SP, Adityanath alleged as he identified the bases of the politics of SP, BSP, and Congress as "caste, vote, and religion".

Listing the work of development by his government, the chief minister said, "Tiloi has also got a medical college. We have laid the foundation stone for that medical college. The Samajwadi Party could not provide this medical college as it does not have the vision of development.