Adityanath names new cancer institute after former CM
In what is seen as an attempt to consolidate the non-Yadav OBC vote bank ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the top Bharatiya Janata Party leadership of Uttar Pradesh descended on Atruali town of Aligarh on Tuesday to participate in the 13th-day rituals of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh.
In the district for the second time in a fortnight, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath described the Lodh leader, who was once the OBC face of the BJP, as one of the foremost warriors of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Referring to the ongoing construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, he said Kalyan Singh worked tirelessly for the “fulfilment of the dream”.
He said Babuji, as Kalyan Singh was fondly called, never stepped back from making sacrifices for this centuries old dream, “whether it was sacrificing the Chief Minister’s post after the disputed structure was removed in 1992 or taking full moral responsibility for its removal.”
Praising Kalyan Singh’s simplicity and discipline, he said, Babuji worked for establishing “a fear-free government in the State” that worked for the socially underprivileged who were kept out of government schemes.
Mr. Adityanath declared that the newly-constructed Cancer Institute in Lucknow would be named after Kalyan Singh. He said the government medical college coming up in Bulandshahr would also be named after the former Chief Minister.
Mr. Adityanath hailed the people of Atrauli, the native town of Kalyan Singh, for turning up in large numbers. “Considering Babuji was out of political life for two decades, the huge turnout shows that he was truly loved by the people of the region.” He said local institutions would also be named after the Atrauli’s son and appealed to the people to strengthen the hands of Kalyan Singh’s son Rajveer Singh and grandson Sandeep Singh. Mr. Rajveer is a BJP MP from neighbouring Etah constituency while Mr. Sandeep is MLA from Atrauli and a junior Minister in the State government.
Inclement weather did not spoil the show, as arrangements had been made to feed around a lakh people, with around 1400 cooks roped in to prepare the special meal.
Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, State BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar were present.
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra, an old colleague of Kalyan Singh, and Uttarkhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya also addressed the gathering.
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