Article 370 was mother of terrorism, says Yogi

VARANASI/LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said Union home minister Amit Shah eliminated terrorism by abrogating Article 370, which had granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir that was reconstituted into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in 2019.

Calling Article 370 the mother of terrorism, the chief minister attacked previous governments for not scrapping it. He also said Uttar Pradesh had witnessed change in the four years of the Bharatiya Janata Party regime in the state where “the rule of law had been established”.

VARANASI/LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said Union home minister Amit Shah eliminated terrorism by abrogating Article 370, which had granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir that was reconstituted into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh in 2019.

Calling Article 370 the mother of terrorism, the chief minister attacked previous governments for not scrapping it. He also said UP had witnessed change in the four years of the BJP regime in the state where “the rule of law had been established”.

Yogi was speaking at separate functions in Lucknow and Mirzapur where Union home minister laid the foundation stones of the Uttar Pradesh State Forensic Science Institute in the state capital and the Vindhyachal Corridor in Mirzapur, besides inaugurating a ropeway from Kalikhoh to the Ashtbhuja temple in Mirzapur.

“Article 370 should have been scrapped long ago. But it was not done. On August 5, (2019), Union Home minister Amit Shah uprooted terrorism by scrapping Article 370 which was the mother of terrorism. Therefore, August 5 is a very important day,” he said in Mirzapur. Under the tourism promotion scheme, at least one tourist spot in every assembly constituency of UP was selected and being rejuvenated and developed, he said, adding that Vindhyachal Corridor was one of them.

Yogi said that no one thought of the ropeway before but his government built it as it would help the devotees in a big way.

The medical college built in Mirzapur would open employment opportunities, provide medical education and better medical facilities, he said.

He said 136 crore people of the country were the family of the present government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre. At the Lucknow function held before the Mirzapur ceremony, Yogi Adityanath said, “There is rule of law in the state, the common people are living in fearfree atmosphere, women and girls are feeling safe in Uttar Pradesh.” Before 2017, UP was known as a state engulfed in communal violence and law and order had collapsed, he said, adding there was mafia raj in the state and more than half the posts in the state police force were lying vacant.

The mafia had become so brazen that they had grabbed the 142-acre land acquired for the establishment of the forensic institute, he said. They had planned to sell the government land, he said, adding that the state police filed a petition in court to free the land from the clutches of land grabbers.

The BJP government not only checked crime but also confiscated property worth Rs 1584 crore of gangsters and criminals who were given protection by the earlier government, he said. Due to the operation launched by the police, the criminals were fearful now, he said.

The Forensic Science Institute would play an important role in producing competent scientists who would help in checking crime and ensuring conviction of criminals, he said.