HAS YOGI ADITYANATH DONE ENOUGH?
With Uttar Pradesh ready for elections in 2022, what does Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s report card look like after four years in power? What work has been done and what are the challenges his government is facing?
If we look into the achievements by Yogi and his government, they are clearly many and so are the obstacles they face. Talking about the feathers in his cap, one important aspect has been the presentation of the UP government’s first paperless budget for the year 2021-22 for the largest ever allocation of Rs. 5.5 lakh crore for holistic development of Uttar Pradesh. It is pertinent to note that the state’s GSDP has augmented in the sat four years from 10.9 lakh crore to 21.73 lakh crore which has marked a major change. Earlier, while the state was categorized as a ‘BIMARU’ one, now, it has become the second largest economy in the country.
As per a report of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the per capita income of the state has doubled as well. According to the same report, the rate of unemployment has come down from 17.5% to 4.1% in UP. As evident, the UP government has also worked with an iron-fist against criminals and mafia gangs. According to the same report, illegal assets belonging to such notorious elements of the society worth Rs. 1, 000 crore have been either confiscated or demolished.
A whopping 1.27 lakh crore has been paid to sugarcane farmers in the state in the last four years. During Adityanath’s tenure, no riot has broke out in the state and the law makes sure that any such nefarious plot is foiled before it gains momentum. For instance, the sinister plot of fanning caste-based riots in the state after the Hathras case at the hands of groups like the PFI and other political parties and their stooges was averted due to the swift action of the police and the government. Police stations have gone under massive infrastructural change. 59 police stations, 4 women stations and 16 cybercrime stations have been established in the state. A zero tolerance for crime policy has been adopted under Yogi Adityanath. There has been a 66% drop in dacoit cases, 45% reduction in rape cases, 19% drop in murder cases and special focus is laid on women’s safety.
If we talk about the handling of the pandemic, the state High Court had itself appreciated the efforts done by the government back in late May. The court lauded the development of medical infrastructure in the districts of Bahraich, Shravasti, Bijnor, Barabanki and Jaunpur. While hearing a PIL related to the COVID-19 spread and the government’s measures to curb it in UP, the court also mentioned in its report that satisfactory work had been done for the capping of fee for diagnostics in the state. Also, in order to encourage and honour journalists, who had been tirelessly working during the COVID-19 spread, Yogi Adityanath announced a financial aid worth Rs. 10 lakh for family members of scribes who lost their lives during the pandemic.
During the first COVID-19 wave when the lockdown was implemented, Yogi Adityanath was the first CM to announce Rs. 1, 000 labour maintenance support and free ration was also distributed to the needy. It was seen that the ‘UP model’ of handling the epidemic was the talking point during the first wave and the WHO itself praised Uttar Pradesh’s COVID-19 management during the second.
Another important achievement to be listed can be the wave of ‘cultural nationalism’ which is being witnessed in the state. During Adityanath’s four years, a favourable climate for the ‘govansh rakshaks’ or for those rearing cows has been created. The laying of the foundation stone of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, the Ganga Yatra and the developmental schemes for religious towns has given the phenomenon a further push.
Infrastructural development has also been paid utmost importance to. Different metro rail projects have been announced with a provision of Rs. 1, 175 crore for the same. 597 crore has been allocated for the Kanpur metro rail project. The trial run commencement of the first section between Iitkanpur and Moti Jheel has been set from 31st July, 2021 and its commercial run from 30th November, 2021. There is a provision of Rs. 478 crore for the Agra metro rail project. Also, for the construction of the Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, the government has made a provision of Rs 1,326 crore. Meerut is soon going to get the gift of metro rail and vlight weight metro will soon be launched in Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Jhansi and Prayagraj.
Expressways are also coming up for the betterment of connectivity in the state. The Purvanchal Expressway, Ganga Expressway, Agra- Kanpur Expressway and the Bijnor-moradabadfatehgarh Expressway are all set to be added into the road network of the state. With this, drinking water projects were also announced for the Bundelkhand area. All these developments are being closely monitored by the UP government. Other major achievements can be setting up of different ‘anti-romeo squads’, shutting down illegal meat shops, handling cow-vigilantism and tripletalaq with the introduction of the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion law.
Clearly, Yogi Adityanath has been able to create a difference in the state but all this has not come easy. Various challenges were faced by his government amidst the developmental projects. The most recent attempt at creating tensions in the state, ahead of the upcoming assembly elections was the peddling of the fake hate crime incident from Ghaziabad wherein an old Muslim man was beaten up by 4-5 Muslim youth but the Lutyens’ media portals and so-called ‘liberal’ left-wingers left no stone unturned to label it as a communal crime against a Muslim by Hindus. And it was evident that the fake news they unleashed had much more reach than what the police had to say. This is how lies become truths. Another attempt at creating caste-based tension was tried to be made following the Hathras case but luckily, it was avoided.
On a similar note, his image as the ‘saffron-clad monk’ and a ‘sanghi’ has always been a major obstacle. Many of the developments introduced into the state on his part tend to remain hidden under this fake ‘Hindu fascist’ label which the liberals believe him to be.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for everybody and similar was the case with Yogi Adityanath and his government as well. While the first wave was handled smoothly, the second wave was devastating for everyone. At one point of time in April, it was being projected that UP would witness a daily case count of more than 1 lakh but the state government was able to get the cases reduced within a month and no such projection came to be true. Handling of a pandemic of this scale becomes even more difficult when a CM like Adityanath faces a bitter and toxic opposition who continues to say ad nauseam that the current dispensation does nothing and was a failure during the pandemic while leaders like Akhilesh Yadav were busy calling the vaccine a ‘BJP vaccine’ and citing fake side effects like impotence of the same.
Now, while COVID-19 has gone nowhere, the state government has started to work on various water-borne diseases and their containment as the monsoon season approaches. Diseases such as encephalitis and Malaria are now to be fought and this is another major challenge ahead. A special campaign to send medical kits from door to door for kids has been started since 15th June and all necessary preparations are being made. Regular sanitation and fogging-drives are to be used in order to deal with such water-borne illnesses. An action plan to try and avoid another serious COVID-19 wave is also being planned out.
But one thing which is imminent is that more of grave challenges will have to be faced by Yogi Adityanath as he gears up for the 2022 elections as the left-lobby is eager to target him with fake news and its anti-hindutva ideology. They will try their best to see Adityanath out of office and many incidents similar to the Ghaziabad fiasco will have to be dealt with the UP CM along with handling a toxic opposition, the left-media, naysayers, propaganda peddlers and sections of the society opposed to his ideology and the BJP.