The SP, BSP and the Congress are competing for power in Uttar Pradesh without any base among the masses, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Friday, asserting that the opposition parties were fighting to become a “landlord without land”.

He said the mafias that were flourishing under the previous governments in Uttar Pradesh have been put behind bars during the Yogi Adityanath dispensation, and asserted that there was a sense of security in the state.

While participating in various programmes on ‘Seva Diwas’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur, Naqvi told reporters that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was taking “stringent action against goons and mafias” due to which “their political protectors are being hurt the most”.

For the people of the state it is a choice between “apradhiyon ki hirasat (detention for criminals)” versus “apradhiyon ki hifazat (protection for criminals)”.

The people of Uttar Pradesh are living with a sense of security under the Adityanath government, but this has made those people restless who had been “reaching the throne of power by sitting on the shoulders of these goons and mafias”, Naqvi was quoted as saying by a statement from his office.

The Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress are in a competition for power without any base among the masses, he said, adding that they are fighting to become a “landlord without land”.

Indian politics has taken a positive turn due to the “politics of commitment to performance, good governance and integrity” being practiced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naqvi said.

But those political parties who are confined to the “family nest” can neither understand nor accept this positive change in politics, Naqvi said.

Prime Minister Modi is synonymous with determination, dedication and development without discrimination, the minister said.

Naqvi said that Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have played the role of “trouble-shooters” during the coronavirus pandemic and led the fight against the pandemic from the front.

Modi’s commitment to the health and well-being of the people has ensured that India, despite having a huge population, is strongly coming out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Naqvi said that the world’s largest coronavirus vaccination drive is going on in India where more than 77 crore doses have been administered till now.

Naqvi participated in various programmes in Rampur as part of ‘Seva Diwas’ organised to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday.

He also visited a vaccination centre at Dhamora in Rampur where he encouraged people to get inoculated and contribute in the campaign to make India coronavirus-free.

The minister felicitated farmers and retired army personnel at Zila Sahakari Bank in Rampur. He also felicitated women for exceptional work during the pandemic