Byndoor: Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, said on Tuesday that the Siddaramaiah government was protecting jihadi elements instead of giving importance to governance in the State.

He was speaking at an election meeting organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party here. Trasi is part of Byndoor Assembly constituency in Udupi district.

Mr. Adityanath said that by protecting such jihadi elements, the Siddaramaiah government was playing with the security of the people. The State government has done little for fishermen, though the State has a long coastline. Similarly, it has failed to do anything worthwhile to uplift the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and poor people and women.

The Siddaramaiah government has failed to provide jobs to the youth and undertake development works. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has implemented a slew of development programmes. The Jan Dhan Yojana had provided bank accounts to 38 crore poor people. This ensured that the money allocated for their welfare reached their accounts and was not swindled by middlemen.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme provided poor families with healthcare insurance coverage up to ₹5 lakh. The Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana provided housing for the poor. The Siddaramaiah government failed to implement these Centrally sponsored schemes for the welfare of the poor. Consequently, the benefits of these schemes were not reaching the poor, he said.

The BJP believes in promoting nationalism among people. “Our ideal is Shivaji Maharaj. But the Siddaramaiah government is not celebrating Shivaji Jayanti and Hanuman Jayanti. It is only interested in celebrating Tipu Jayanti,” he said. Mr. Adityanath listed the development programmes taken by his government in Uttar Pradesh. His government had waived the loans of 86 lakh farmers in Uttar Pradesh. “Instead of working for the poor, the Congress here has used Karnataka as an ATM to withdraw money to fill its own pockets,” he said.