Meerut, Jan 2: Hitting out at the previous governments in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said gangsters and criminals used to play their own games here earlier but the Yogi Adityanath government now plays “jail-jail” with them.
Addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation stone for Major Dhyan Chand Sports University here, PM Modi said, “During previous governments, criminals used to play their games and the mafias used to play their own.”
“Earlier, there used to be tournaments of illegal land grabbing. People making obscene remarks at daughters used to roam free,” he said, adding people living in Meerut and adjoining areas can never forget “how houses used to be set ablaze” here.
“The result of these games played by the earlier government was that people were forced to leave their ancestral homes and there was an exodus,” the prime minister claimed.
“Now, the Yogi government is playing ‘jail-jail’ with such criminals. Five years ago, the daughters of Meerut used to fear leaving their homes after evening. Today, the daughters of Meerut are bringing laurels to the entire country,” Modi said.
Reacting to Prime Minister Modi’s “games” jibe, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav retorted back, accusing the BJP of playing “false games”, which, he said, people will foil in the upcoming state assembly elections.
Prime Minister Modi, taking an apparent dig at SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, further said, “The role of the government should be that of a guardian. Competence should be encouraged. In case of youths committing a mistake, it should not be ignored by saying that ‘boys do make mistakes’.”
The Prime Minister apparently referred to a remark made by SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav a few years ago amid pouplar demands for stringent punishments to rapists.
Referring to the infamous Sotiganj Market of Meerut, which specialised in dismantling stolen cars and selling its parts, Modi said, “There has been ‘the end’ to the game played with vehicles in the market. Real sports are getting encouragement in UP. The youths of UP are getting an opportunity to make their presence felt in the sports world.”
Accusing the previous governments of not making efforts to change the ‘narrow’ mindset towards sports, Modi said the sports world was marred by maladies like games of nepotism, casteism, corruption and discrimination earlier at every level right from the training to team selection.
Amid Prime Minister Modi laying the foundation stone of a sports university in Meerut after the legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand, Akhilesh Yadav who ruled Uttar Pradesh from 2012 to 2017, accused the succeeding BJP government of destroying the sports infrastructure created by his government in the state. “The BJP government discontinued the Yash Bharti Awards given in the fields of wrestling, athletics, hockey and cricket. They also destroyed the sports infrastructure made by the SP,” claimed Yadav. (PTI)
