Lucknow : Under the shadow of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday released a report card after completing three years in office.

Listing the achievements of his government, he said his government has put the state on the path of development and won people’s trust. Speaking at a 50-minute press conference, the chief minister stressed that the perception of people is changing and patted his government’s back for “improvement” in law and order.

“In the state, the BJP-led government is completing three years of development, trust and good governance. We have been successful in changing perception about Uttar Pradesh by bringing development and good governance to the state,” said Adityanath.

A short film with a slogan “Varsh teen, kaam behtareen (three years of good work)” was also released. Booklets on “three years of good governance” were also distributed.

As more coronavirus cases are being reported from Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath, deputy chief ministers and media persons underwent thermal screening before the press conference. They also used hand sanitisers before sitting on the dais. He said all social events have been postponed till the first week of April.

Adityanath accused the previous governments of failing to develop the state and maintain law and order. He said his government had turned challenges into opportunities.

“The circumstances of that time are not hidden from anyone. There was no such thing as law and order and development was in a shambles. People had stopped trusting the constitutional institutions. The circumstances were challenging. We turned those challenges into opportunities,” he claimed.

He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda for inspiration.

Nadda said Uttar Pradesh has seen an “unprecedented” development under Adityanath. “In the rule of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, unprecedented development of Uttar Pradesh has taken place; be it education, health, employment or infrastructure. All sections of society have come to trust the law and order machinery in the BJP rule,” he said.

Adityanath, the head priest of the Gorakhnath temple, further said how the current dispensation has provided shelter to stray cattle. Lauding the efforts in the tourism sector, he said major religious sites from Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi to Ayodhya to Vindhyavasani dham in eastern UP were developed.

He claimed that there has been a considerable fall in various crimes – organised crime, robbery, loot, murder, kidnapping and even rape.

In addition, he said the state government has improved the heath and education sectors, and farmers’ income.

“The loan of 86 lakh farmers has been waived of. Our government is constantly working towards doubling the income of farmers. The cane price payment was pending since 2010. Our government has paid over Rs 92,000 crore of sugarcane dues,” he said.

Earlier, there were 27 private universities in the state, now approval has been given to 28 private universities and eight new state universities.

The chief minister lauded the government for providing jobs to 33 lakh people in the past three years. He said 3 lakh youths have been given government jobs and 1 lakh poor women have got married with the help of state funds.

Adding that the perception of the state is changing, the chief minister said three major expressways will soon be ready to boost infrastructure and economy.

While around 40 per cent work on the Purvanchal Expressway has been completed and it will be open to public by year end, Bundelkhand Expressway will be open by the end of next year and even work on Ganga Expressway is in progress, he said.

He informed about the steps being taken to control coronavirus and to assist daily wage labourers who might lose out on income due to lockdowns. The chief minister informed about how his government has been able to control infectious diseases in Gorakhpur.