GORAKHPUR: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday targeted the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress, accusing them of spreading propaganda against Ayodhya after failing to stop the city’s transformation through heritage and development.“Those who used to say that Ram never existed are now engaged in maligning Ayodhya,” he said, asserting that the political future of both parties would be at stake if the development journey continued at the same pace.Yogi made the remarks while celebrating Diwali with the Van Tangiya community at Jungle Tinkonia No. 3 village in Gorakhpur. He shared the festival’s joy with the community for the 10th consecutive year as chief minister, after overseeing the Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya on Saturday.He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 52 development projects worth Rs 82.41 crore related to rural development, eco-tourism and the Global Nagar Bazaar initiative.Greeting people on Diwali, Yogi referred to the construction of the Ram temple and the rapid development of Ayodhya and Uttar Pradesh, saying anything was possible with determination.He recalled that before 2017, people were allegedly prevented from chanting “Jai Shri Ram” in Ayodhya and that opposition parties had opposed the Ram temple movement.He said roads, electricity, airports, railway lines and public facilities had expanded since the BJP government came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.The chief minister said the Van Tangiya community had been left to struggle in forests for more than a century under British rule and successive Congress and SP governments.He said 56 Van Tangiya villages in Uttar Pradesh had remained deprived of basic amenities, including voter registration, roads, electricity, drinking water, ration cards, schools, healthcare, pensions and pucca houses, even after Independence.Yogi said development initiatives undertaken after 2017 had transformed the villages. Recalling his visits to the community since 2007-08, he said he had been celebrating Diwali with its members after the Ayodhya celebrations for the past 10 years as chief minister.Interacting with villagers, he asked whether they had roads, schools, electricity and drinking water before 2017. The residents responded in the negative. He then listed the facilities available now, including pucca houses, ration cards, schools, Ayushman cards, roads and electricity.He said the Van Tangiya villages were recognised as revenue villages after 2017, enabling residents to access government schemes and participate in elections.Yogi urged the community to preserve its history of struggle and tell future generations how its members had been deprived of facilities for decades before the BJP government brought them under welfare schemes.The CM inaugurated 26 projects worth Rs 77.97 crore and laid the foundation stones for 26 projects worth Rs 4.43 crore.Major projects included an interlocking road connecting Rajahi crossing to Pipraich road via Jungle Tinkonia No. 3, an eco-park in Kusmhi forest costing Rs 4.84 crore and a Global Nagar Bazaar in Pipraich Nagar Panchayat worth Rs 1.95 crore.Yogi also distributed Diwali gifts and certificates to beneficiaries of various government schemes, including horticulture, agricultural mechanisation, tool-kit distribution, Ayushman Bharat and the rural housing scheme.He visited departmental stalls, interacted with beneficiaries, conducted the annaprashan ceremony for children and performed godh bharai for pregnant women.After the programme, he visited the residence of Van Tangiya community head Ram Ganesh and lit a diya to formally inaugurate the village’s Diwali celebrations.Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan welcomed the chief minister, saying Uttar Pradesh had witnessed development in security, employment, healthcare and infrastructure under Yogi’s leadership.He also urged SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to apologise for the firing on kar sevaks during the SP regime before visiting the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
