LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday mounted a blistering attack on the opposition. Replying to the debate on the Governor's address, the Chief Minister slammed the opposition for raising objections over the Governor's delay of a few minutes in coming to the Assembly for her address on February 18.
"There should be respect for those occupying constitutional positions. They do not belong to one party but are above political lines. The tendency to attack such persons is a matter of concern," he said.
In an obvious reference to the Samajwadi Party without taking its name, Yogi Adityanath said, "There is a new culture of wearing caps of different colours."
Recalling an incident, he said at a function he once saw a two-year-old boy point towards a leader who was wearing a cap of a particular colour and saying, "Mummy, dekhowo goonda (look he is criminal)."
"Caps of different colours make the VidhanSabha look like a drama company," he said. The Chief Minister, without taking names, also criticized the AamAadmi Party (AAP) over its allegations of a scam in the purchase of oximeters and PPE kits.
"When we probed the matter, we found that these items were purchased at a much higher rate in Delhi. When we told them (AAP), they have been quiet after that," he said.
The Chief Minister then said that those who reached Parliament from Uttar Pradesh, are now ridiculing the state in Kerala.
"Who is insulting UP and Amethi? Who has the time to visit Italy but not Amethi? Who is now visiting temples in UP?" he asked, even as Congress members made feeble attempts to protest. Yogi Adityanath said the Congress had turned the pandemic into a joke when it said it wanted to send 1,000 buses for migrant workers.
"We checked and found that they had given registration numbers of scooters and three-wheelers. Is this not a joke on the people? If they had the buses, why did they not use them to send children from Kota?" he said.
In his speech, the Chief Minister listed in detail the steps taken by his government to deal with the pandemic and also efforts made to improve the condition of farmers. (IANS)