No pact between SP, BSP will stop BJP from sweeping LS polls: UP Dy CM

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya today said any pact between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would not stop the BJP from sweeping the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Claiming that all the opposition parties, including the Congress, SP and BSP, were uniting ahead of the general election next year as they were afraid of the rising popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he asserted that the BJP would secure a clear majority in the Lok Sabha polls.

Maurya said the BJP believed in the development of all whereas, the SP-BSP believed in the development of only a few, adding that their (opposition's) slogan was "Kuch Ka Sath, Kuch Ka Vikas", while the saffron party's slogan was "Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas".

"The country is moving ahead under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and a rapid development is taking place," he said, adding that Uttar Pradesh was also witnessing a rapid growth in infrastructure under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Taking a dig at the SP, Maurya said the long-pending development works from the father's (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and the son's (Akhilesh Yadav) time were now being completed during the BJP regime.

Claiming that Congress president Rahul Gandhi's "Jan Akrosh Rally" in New Delhi yesterday was a flop show, the deputy chief minister said it was about his (Gandhi's) "anger and frustration" that his family was ousted from power.

Stating that law and order had improved in Uttar Pradesh after the BJP came to power, he said now criminals did not want to come out of jails due to the fear of police.

"The land sharks too are scared and the land-grabbing incidents of the previous SP, BSP regimes have come down significantly. The government is taking strong action against the land sharks and will continue to do so," Maurya said.

Improvement was also being witnessed in the education and health sectors in the state and the government was trying to provide the best healthcare facilities to the patients, he added.

The deputy chief minister said during the SP rule, it was heard that incidents of cheating used to take place in the high school and intermediate examinations in Uttar Pradesh and added that after the BJP came to power, the government had issued strict instructions to all concerned that such malpractices would not be allowed.

Maurya also reiterated that there would be no change in the liquor policy, despite a demand from state minister Om Prakash Rajbhar of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an ally of the BJP.