Yogi Adityanath attacks LDF, UDF for not bringing law against 'love jihad'

Haripad: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took potshots at his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging his office was involved in the gold smuggling scam and attacked the two rival fronts- the ruling LDF and opposition UDF for not bringing in a legislation against 'Love Jihad'.

Addressing a BJP campaign rally for the April 6 state Assembly polls at Haripad in Alappuzha district, Adityanath said the smuggling case was one of the most "shameful" incidents in India's history.

The gold smuggling case relates to the seizure of 30 kg of gold worth Rs 14.82 crore from the Thiruvananthapuram airport last year.

Various central agencies are probing the case in which the Chief Minister's former principal secretary M Sivasankar was arrested for his close ties with prime accused Swapna Suresh.

Hitting out at the ruling CPM-led LDF and the opposition Congress-led UDF,Adityanath said both were not interested in implementing the anti-love Jihad law on the lines of the legislation brought in by his government.

Though the Kerala High Court had made remarks against Love Jihad in 2009, the state had not done anything so far to check it, he alleged.

In Uttar Pradesh, an anti-love jihad legislation has been implemented.

Why is it not being implemented in Kerala? Neither the LDF nor the UDF have so far implemented the anti-love jihad law despite Kerala being targetted, he said.

Despite being aware that the organisations like Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political wing the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) were allegedly involved in illegal activities, thus pushing the state into a dangerous position, the two fronts have tied a cloth around their eyes and failed to take any action against them.

This is to protect their vote-bank politics, he charged adding the two fronts were"cheating" the people.

Lashing out at the Left government, he said it had failed completely in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, which shows that the government machinery was a "total failure".

LDF and UDF have been coming to power alternatively as part of a five-year agreement and their aim was to favour nepotism and encourage corruption and they were not concerned about providing jobs to unemployed youth, he said.

"The two fronts are competing with each other not on development, but on corruption, the central funds are being misused and diverted for their own cadres and not for the people of the state," he alleged.

The only option is to ensure that BJP-NDA comes to power in Kerala as it can lead the state to the path of development, help the state's farmers, protect the interests of fishermen community and help the unemployed youth get jobs.

The state Public Service Commission (PSC) was giving jobs to the unemployed youth not on the basis of their qualifications, but jobs were being distributed to LDF cadres, he alleged.

The youth are depressed and ending their lives and the LDF government was not bothered about their welfare, he said.

Kerala had recently witnessed a series of protests by various PSC rank holders in front of the secretariat demanding jobs.

(With inputs from PTI)