UP has changed, 'bahubalis' have no impact now: Shah

BJP president Amit Shah on Monday accused the Opposition of giving tickets to musclemen in Uttar Pradesh, asserting that their presence would not have any impact as the Adityanath government had been acting "tough" against them.

Shah alleged that goons of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) used to work as land mafias, claiming that ever since the "anti-land mafia squads" had been set up by the government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the encroachment or illegal occupation of houses or land had stopped.

Addressing rallies in Chitrakoot and Pratapgarh district, Shah said: "The people from the 'grand adulteration' have given tickets to 'bahubalis' (musclemen) in Uttar Pradesh, but such strongmen do not have an impact here." The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been referring to the Opposition alliance as "mahamilavat" (grand adulteration).

"The 'mahamilavatis' are not able to understand yet that Uttar Pradesh has changed.... Now, it is the Yogi government that is at the helm," Shah said. "Now, the musclemen have no impact here. 'Ab bahubalion ko ulta latka kar seedha kar diya jata hai' (Now, the musclemen are set right by hanging them upside down).

Shah accused Rahul Gandhi of being a "mahamilavati" leader of the grand alliance. "If temperatures in country increases, he (Rahul) takes leave and goes out of the country.... Even his mother (Sonia Gandhi) is not able to find him," he said, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not taken leave in 20 years.

The BJP leader accused BSP supremo Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav of making similar speeches of working for the poor. "For 25 years, the people of Uttar Pradesh gave them opportunity, but they did nothing for the poor," Shah said.

"You gave one chance to Modi ji. When he became the prime minister, he worked for the poor and benefitted them with many schemes in the past five years," the BJP chief said.

Listing the works undertaken by the Modi government, Shah said a "lot of work" had been done for the progress of the poor. He cited the upcoming projects like a defence corridor and an expressway, linking Jhansi to Etawah, as examples of the development works taken for the Bundelkhand region.

Shah claimed that the chants of 'Modi, Modi' at BJP election meetings, was not a mere slogan, but "blessings" by the people of the country.