'Circus lions' surviving on 'leftovers': Yogi mocks SP-BSP bonhomie in UP

Lucknow: Ridiculing the new found SP-BSP bonhomie in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said some people have become "circus lions" and were surviving on "leftovers".

The chief minister targeted the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) during the Budget discussion in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.

"Some people have become circus lions, who do not hunt, but survive on leftovers of others and remain glad as if it has got a prey. It will be good if, instead of becoming such type of lions, one trusts his self-respect," he said without naming anybody.

Yogi Adityanath also attacked 'samajwad' (the political ideology of the Samajwadi Party) on which SP members objected and requested the Chairman to expunge a particular word from the proceedings.

"The country does not need 'samajwad', but 'Ramrajya'," he said in his address.

Hitting out at Yogi Adityanath, SP members said the word 'samajwad' (socialism) is there in the preamble of the Constitution and the chief minister should not say like this.

"I know very much about this fake brand. This brand was seen in Germany as 'Naziwad' and in Italy as fascism. Have we not seen it's distorted form as 'gundaraj' (hooliganism) in UP?" he asked.

Terming allegations of the opposition that the Budget was "anti-development" and "anti-people", he said, "We have presented the biggest Budget of Rs. 4.28 lakh crore." 

"In the Budget, funds for the agriculture department, sanctioned last year in July, 98 per cent has been spent. Besides, 100 per cent budget of the Home department, 78 per cent of the Panchyati Raj department, 65 per cent of the PWD, 87 per cent of the medical education department has been spent," the chief minister said.

"Our government has sanctioned construction of 9.71 lakh houses under the PM's housing scheme and gave 32 lakh power connections to BPL families and gave relaxations to farmers. This is Ramrajya," he said.

The chief minister alleged that due to the faulty policies of the SP and the BSP governments in the past, B.Ed and other degree holders were agitating in the state.

The Uttar Pradesh government is going to start recruitment in a big way, he said.

Yogi Adityanath said that no farmer had committed suicide during his government and added that work on the Purvanchal expressway will start next month.

On a report mentioned by SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav yesterday that maximum riots took place in UP, he said, "The report was of 2016 when Akhilesh was in power." 

"We have made such an atmosphere that criminals have no options left. Our government has changed the image of UP in the eyes of investors," he said.