Farrukhabad: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday justified the drive against ‘land mafia’ claiming that sympathisers of such people are feeling worried, in an indirect attack on SP president Akhilesh Yadav.
Yadav, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, told reporters in Banda on Friday that the Adityanath government was targeting some people and demolishing their houses.
Addressing the inaugural function of the the ‘Mukhyamantri Aarogya Mela’ here, Adityanath said only criminals, mafia and gangsters were feeling afraid in the state.
“They are feeling afraid and moving with boards hanging around their necks,” the chief minister said.
“Today, the government in the state is working with a pledge. Earlier, the land of the poor and traders used to be grabbed by mafia,” he said, adding while action is being taken against land mafia, the sympathisers of such people are feeling worried.
Without taking any name, the chief minister said, “These sympathisers did not have a problem when the land mafia used to grab the land of a poor person, trader or a common man. They are having problems when the property belonging to the poor and farmers are being freed from criminals and mafia.”
Sharpening his attack, Adityanath said now the sympathisers of the land mafia are worried as they fear that “these bulldozers now may move towards them.”
Although Adityanath did not take any name, but his remarks were an indirect response to Samajwadi Party chief Yadav’s comments made in Banda.
, “The houses made by our grandfathers and great grandfathers in which we live do not have approved building plans. At that time, there were no authorities to pass the building plans,” Yadav had said, adding none of such old houses had approved plans.
He said if the “tradition of targeting one person, two or three people and demolishing their houses continues, then if another government comes (to power), it will also identify you and take the bulldozer towards you.”
“The officials who are working for them (those in power) today, will salute the other government tomorrow and work for it,” he said.