Speaking just 140 km away from Lakhimpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 5 October, said that before Yogi Adityanath came to power in Uttar Pradesh, the previous government was 'not interested in helping the poor.'
His speech, however, carried no mention of the incident – and the following unrest – in Lakhimpur Kheri, where a car belonging to Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra ran over protesting farmers, killing four. Mishra's son is reported to have been present in the car.
Eight people, including a journalist, have since died in Lakhimpur Kheri.
Modi, who is on a one-day visit to Lucknow, instead chose to speak about the inefficiency of the previous UP governments:
"Before 2017, the UP government was not interested in building houses for the poor. We had to beg them to do this. They were supposed to make 18,000 houses under the PM Awas Yojana but did not even make 18 houses. They were creating issues. The poor people of UP will never forget this."
His address came during his visit to the 'Azadi@75-New Urban India: Transforming Urban Landscape’ Expo at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow.
Praising UP Chief Minister Adityanath, Modi said, "After Yogi Adityanath came to power, nine lakh houses have been built for the urban poor."
"I am happy that females are the owners or the joint-owners in 80% of the houses allotted under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Usually, everything is in the name of the husband or the son," he added.
Modi further attacked the Opposition and said, "Earlier, the houses allotted were smaller in size, construction material was dubious, and even the allotment was doubtful. After 2014, when our government came to power, we decided no house would be smaller than 22 sq m," he said.
"After 2014, our government has given the permission to build over 1.13 crore houses under PM Awas Yojana, in the city. Of these, over 50 lakh houses have been built & given to the poor so far," he added.
Modi also said that three crore poor families have turned 'lakhpatis'.
"How? You can take into the account the value of the houses we have built under the PM Awas Yojana," he said.
"Under PM Awas Yojana, central government has transferred nearly Rs 1 lakh crore into the accounts of the poor," he added.
Modi then inaugurated and laid foundation stones of 75 urban development projects of Uttar Pradesh under Smart Cities Mission & AMRUT. He also flagged off 75 buses under FAME-II for seven, cities including Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Jhansi & Ghaziabad, reported ANI.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, UP Governor Anandiben Patel and UP CM Adityanath were present with him at the event.
'Anti-Farmer': Opposition Leaders Hit Out at PM Modi, CM Adityanath
According to The Print, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel criticised the BJP government for its “anti-farmer approach pointing out that neither the PM, nor the CM said a single word on this incident (Lakhimpur Kheri) because they have a habit of ignoring the voice of farmers.”
“They are anti-farmers. Their supporters call them (farmers protesting against farm laws) ‘Talibani’, ‘Khalistani’ etc.”Chhattisgarh CM Baghel
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ashutosh Verma, reportedly said: “Not mentioning anything about the Lakhimpur incident in his speech of over 35 minutes clearly shows the Prime Minister’s insensitivity…”
“He has time to wish happy birthday to celebrities but he can’t offer condolence to farmers who died in the violence at Lakhimpur?” Verma added, alleging that the Union minister’s son had not been arrested despite having been booked for murder owing to abuse of power.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi had asked, “Why is PM Narendra Modi not visiting Lakhimpur Kheri to meet families hit by violence?”
(With inputs from ANI.)
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