Deoria: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) leadership of allegedly planning to hand over the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow to a private company linked to members of the Yadav family, alleging that the move would have resulted in the diversion of hundreds of crores of rupees from the state exchequer.
Addressing a public gathering in Deoria after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for 80 development projects worth approximately ₹305 crore in the Salempur and Bhatpar Rani assembly constituencies, Adityanath launched a sharp attack on former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and the SP.
The Chief Minister claimed that the JPNIC project was initially estimated to cost around ₹200 crore but that approximately ₹864 crore had been spent during the previous SP government, while the project remained incomplete.
According to Adityanath, the money spent on the project belonged to the people of Uttar Pradesh and not to any political or family organisation. He alleged that completing the project under the present government would have required another ₹150-200 crore and claimed that there had been an attempt to spend ₹900-1,000 crore from the government treasury before handing the facility over to a private company.
Adityanath further alleged that the proposed private company would have operated facilities including a hotel, club and gym, with the revenue allegedly benefiting those associated with it. He claimed that Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav and their associates were involved in the alleged plan.
After the BJP government came to power in 2017, the project was transferred to the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), which conducted an inquiry, the Chief Minister said. He added that the government was not prepared to spend additional public money on the project and had initiated measures to recover the money already spent.
Calling upon the SP leadership to apologise to the people, Adityanath alleged that funds that could otherwise have been used for employment generation, flyovers, innovation centres and universities were being misused.
Attack on SP and Akhilesh Yadav
The Chief Minister described the SP as synonymous with corruption and alleged that the party functioned like a family-controlled organisation.
Taking a swipe at Akhilesh Yadav, Adityanath also criticised his recent comments regarding the government’s free bus travel initiative. He said that women had been provided free travel on Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation buses for three days, from August 27 to 29, and claimed that millions of women had benefited from the facility.
He said free bus travel would continue and that women aged 60 and above would be eligible for free travel on state transport buses from the following day.
Adityanath said the government was returning the benefit of taxpayers’ money to the people through welfare schemes, including free food grains for 16 crore poor beneficiaries.
One Lakh Government Jobs to Be Provided Soon
The Chief Minister said employment opportunities were expanding in Uttar Pradesh and announced that around one lakh young people would soon receive government jobs.
He said the recruitment would include 45,000 Home Guards and 36,000 police personnel, including 4,000 sub-inspectors. He also said appointment letters would soon be distributed to around 30,000 candidates selected through the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission.
Adityanath said recruitment of teachers would also begin shortly. Referring to the Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test, he said around 13 lakh candidates had qualified and that the recruitment requisition had already been sent, with an advertisement expected soon.
He also reiterated the government’s plan to distribute tablets to two crore young people. More than 50 lakh beneficiaries have already received tablets, he said, while an additional order for 25 lakh devices has been placed.
Government Claims Success in Controlling Encephalitis
Adityanath also highlighted the government’s efforts to control encephalitis in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
He recalled that the period from July to November had historically been associated with fear among families in Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti and Siddharthnagar because of encephalitis outbreaks.
The Chief Minister claimed that around 50,000 children had died from encephalitis over four decades and criticised previous Congress and SP governments for allegedly failing to adequately address the crisis.
He said the BJP-led government had effectively eliminated encephalitis as a major public health threat in the region and asserted that parents no longer needed to live under the same fear.
Adityanath attributed the change to what he described as improved governance and said poor families were now receiving food grains, electricity, housing and sanitation facilities, while young people were gaining access to employment and government jobs.
‘UP Is No Longer a BIMARU State’
Highlighting the state’s development trajectory, Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh was no longer regarded as a “BIMARU” state.
He said the state had witnessed improvements in infrastructure, security, employment and public welfare under the BJP government. He also claimed that the government had provided more than 9.5 lakh government jobs over the past nine-and-a-half years and that nearly three crore young people had gained employment opportunities.
The Chief Minister said the state had also witnessed a decline in incidents of riots and disruption and claimed that organised criminal networks had been dismantled.
Praise for Deoria’s Development
Adityanath said the “double-engine” government had accelerated development in Deoria. He pointed to the establishment of a medical college named after Maharshi Deoraha Baba and various infrastructure and temple-development projects.
He also recalled the role of former Congress MLA Raghav Baba, claiming that the leader had openly opposed what he described as the Congress’s policy of appeasement and supported the Ram temple movement.
The Chief Minister criticised the previous SP government over the allocation of funds for development works, alleging that money meant for temple beautification had instead been diverted toward graveyard-related projects.
Agriculture Minister Suryapratap Shahi, Minister of State for Rural Development Vijaylakshmi Gautam, legislators Sabhakunwar Kushwaha, Dr Shalabh Mani Tripathi, Surendra Chaurasia and Deepak Kumar Mishra ‘Shaka’, among other BJP leaders and officials, were present at the programme.
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