No person with self-respect will take up Cong membership: Adityanath

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said the party was opposing the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which was a "blot" on Kashmir, and that no person with self-respect would take up the membership of the grand old party.

"The Congress is opposing the abrogation of Article 370, which was a blot on Kashmir. Under such circumstances, no person with self-respect will accept the membership of the Congress," Adityanath said, addressing a rally in Pratapgarh.

On the occasion, he also welcomed former Congress leader Ratna Singh and her supporters, who joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The chief minister addressed rallies in Pratapgarh, Chitrakoot and Kanpur in support of the BJP candidates for the October 21 Assembly bypolls.

He appealed to people to vote for the saffron party and said the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and other parties had done politics of caste and religion and promoted nepotism, the repercussions of which were being faced by Uttar Pradesh.

"Development and good governance are not on the agenda of these parties. It is wrong to expect development measures from them," he said.

Addressing a rally in Chitrakoot, Adityanath said, "For the last 15 years, the SP, the BSP and the Congress, in connivance with some contractors, looted the funds which were allotted for development works in the region. After the formation of the BJP government in the state, the region has become free from dacoits."