Azamgarh, which was a terror hub in earlier govts, now a centre of development: Shah

“I want to congratulate Yogi ji (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath). In Azamgarh, which was considered the centre of terror across the country, he got the foundation of a music college laid to give respect to its heritage,” Shah said.

Recalling his earlier visits to UP, before the BJP government came to power in the state, he said there was hardly a night when power was available in rural areas. “24-hour power supply was available only during Ramzan… Now, the BJP government has ensured power to the entire UP and heralded a new period of development,” Shah said, adding it was difficult to imagine UP being “riot-free”. “But the Adityanath government has made it possible,” he added,

Taking a jibe at Akhilesh Yadav, who won from Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 elections and later quit to retain the MLA post, Shah asked people whether he visited his constituency during the Covid-19 pandemic. “He is the SP chief.. he was the MP from this area. Nobody saw him here during the pandemic,” Shah said.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath alleged that some wanted India to become like Pakistan but the country will touch new heights after 2014.

The CM said Azamgarh earlier faced a “crisis of identity” and the youth from the district were denied even a place to live in other cities but its glory is now being brought back under the BJP rule.

Describing Azamgarh as the land of sages, ascetics, litterateurs and artists, he said the district had come to be known for bomb blasts, hooliganism and destruction.

“Today, its name is being taken for development with its glory back,” he said.