Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sakshi Maharaj said that while Lord Rama had ‘dhanush’ and Lord Krishna had ‘sudarshan chakra’, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has a bulldozer that razes illegal properties of ‘land mafias’.
Speaking to reporters in Kannauj, the Unnao MP said 99 percent of the citizens in UP are happy with the use of bulldozers to demolish the properties, which were illegally built by encroaching government lands. The BJP leader visited Kannauj to attend a private function.
“While Lord Ram and Krishna had ‘dhanush’ (bow) and ‘sudarshan chakra’ respectively, our baba (Yogi Adityanth) has a bulldozer, which is being used against land mafia,” said Maharaj, a senior parliamentarian known for his controversial statements. He has been elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) twice from Unnao and is in power since 2014.
The BJP government in UP had earlier said it had cleared illegal occupation off government lands and demolished illegal buildings using bulldozers. The move was repeatedly used in campaign speeches by the BJP leaders during the poll campaigning for the 2022 state Assembly elections. It led to Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav derogatorily calling Adityanath “Bulldozer Baba”, a sobriquet that the CM doesn’t appear to mind.
Asked about leaders of opposition parties visiting Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in Sitapur jail, Maharaj said, “I am keeping an eye on it and the government, too, is aware of it.”
Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) (PSPL) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav and Congress leader Pramod Krishnam recently met Khan.
Shivpal Singh Yadav’s meeting with Khan amid his widening rift with Akhilesh Yadav has triggered speculation of him and Khan forming a new morcha. When asked by a reporter about it, Yadav said, “A decision on this will be taken at the right time… after he comes out of jail.”
Azam Khan, a 10-time MLA from Rampur Sadar is in Sitapur jail for over the past two years in connection with multiple cases. His bail plea is expected to come up in the Supreme Court on May 2.
