In his high-pitched campaigns for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has regularly raised the issue of benefits from various government schemes are not reaching people of Uttar Pradesh equally. The UP state government is selectively choosing households and areas belonging to a particular community for passing the benefits of the schemes. In an official report by the Government of India, it has been found out that Akhilesh Yadav government openly discriminated against the Hindus when it came to the electrification of rural households under DDUGJU (Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana), which is central government’s flagship program for electrification of 18,000 villages. The shocking report has revealed that in a shameful display of Muslim appeasement, villages with large Muslim Ghettos were chosen for electrification, while the villages with Hindu population were ignored for electrification.
In his Uttar Pradesh rallies, the Prime Minister has regularly called for benefits of every scheme should reach people without any discrimination based on caste or religion. For most of the central government schemes, the state government has to prepare the list of the beneficiaries. The state government should not discriminate the beneficiaries on the basis of caste and religion. However, in Uttar Pradesh, Muslims and Yadavs have been openly given the benefits while the other Hindus have been neglected. The issue was raised by Muradabad Member of Parliament Sarvesh Kumar, after which Ministry of Power investigated the matter. The report by REC (Rural Electrification Corporation) which looks into electrification of villages is an eye-opener. The report (attached below) raises three main concerns :
1. Discrimination on religious grounds while implementation of DDUGJY scheme
2. Poor quality of works
3. Charging of money from villagers for providing infrastructure and releasing BPL connections.
The report has suggested that an FIR be filed against the contractor responsible for electrification works and punitive actions must be immediately taken. It has also asked the DM of the district to conduct further investigations.
Yesterday in a massive rally at Fatehpur, PM Modi had sent a strong message to the state government to stop religious discrimination in benefits of government schemes. “Agar sarkaar kabristan banati hai, toh sarkar ko shamshan bhi banana chahiye. Agar sarkar Ramzan par bijli deti hai, toh Diwali par bhi bijli deni chahiye. Sarkar ko dharm, jaati aur oonch-neech ke aadahar par bhed-bhaav katayi nahi karna chahiye” (If a government constructs graveyards for Muslims, it must also construct cremation ground for Hindus. if the state government provides electricity during Ramzan, it must also provide electricity during Diwali. Government has no right to discriminate on the basis of religion, caste and social status).
This act by Akhilesh Yadav is a brazen display of muslim appeasement where Hindu households are discriminated against for passing on the benefits of various central government schemes, such as electrification, LPG cylinders, MNREGA and other direct benefit transfer schemes. The appeasement of this kind indicates how anti-Hindu the so called secular parties have become to get the votes of Muslims.
