Without taking the name of mafia Mukhtar Ansari on his home turf, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath commented, “Those who brought Mau’s law and order on ‘wheelchairs’ during festivals are now moving on wheelchairs in the double-engine government themselves.”

Addressing a public meeting in Mau on Wednesday to seek votes for BJP candidates in the civic polls, the chief minister said, “This is the same district where Ramlila could not be organised, the district where the SP and BSP allowed these professional criminals and mafia to create chaos in their regimes. Since the double-engine government assumed power in Uttar Pradesh, these professional criminals can now be seen on wheelchairs.”

Lambasting the previous SP and BSP governments for allegedly turning Ballia – the land of revolutions –into a land of ‘curfew’, the chief minister said, “Instead of giving a pen in the hands of the youth, ‘licences’ were distributed to turn them into rioters and create chaos.”

Making an appeal to the people of Mau, the CM said for overall development without any discrimination, a third engine is also necessary.

 “The money that comes for the construction of houses, and toilets should go directly to the poor’s account. Under the Ujjwala Yojana, the poor must receive a cooking gas connection. A health insurance coverage worth 5 lakh, and a solution for waterlogging, just as there is an electricity connection in every home, there should be a connection for clean drinking water in every house. The board, which is going to be elected, will make all of these arrangements,” Yogi stated.

Recounting the situation before 2017, the CM said, “At that time, in our cities, there was the terror of miscreants, sisters, and daughters were not safe. Piles of filth were visible in the urban areas. Today, our cities are seen as smart cities and not heaps of garbage. There is no terror of criminals, and cities are being developed into safe cities. Instead of a ‘tamancha,’ the youth are holding a tablet.”

Listing the development works of his government, the CM emphasised that the double-engine government has run many programmes in Mau. “Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), 17655 houses were approved in Mau district alone. Under the PM SVANidhi Yojana, the work of giving interest-free loans to 8930 street vendors was done. The double engine government is giving the benefit of Rs 12,000 annual pension facility to 12407 destitute women, 11809 differently-abled (divyangjans), and 12633 elderly people.”

Nagar panchayat Kurthi Jafarpur has been created while 2 nagar panchayats have been expanded. The area of Maunath Bhanjan Municipality has also been expanded. With Rs 27 crores, the work of providing pure drinking water to 37,000 families under the Har Ghar Nal Yojana has also been done, he added.

The CM assured that there would never be lack of funds for the development projects that have already begun in this area.