"India is against any sort of jihad": UP Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 1 (ANI): Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has said that India is against any type of jihad and the country is moving forward with the guarantee of making a 'Viksit Bharat.'On a case registered against Congress leader Salman Khurshid's niece Maria Alam Khan over her statement, Keshav Prasad Maurya, while speaking to ANI said, "India stands against any sort of jihad whether it is love jihad, land jihad and newly coined word vote jihad."On April 30, an FIR was lodged against Congress leader Salman Khurshid and Samajwadi Party leader Maria Alam Khan for allegedly seeking votes on "religious lines".

The case had been registered in Kayamganj Police Station in Fatehgarh district under sections 188 and 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code.

Farrukhabad SP Vikas Kumar had said, "A video of Maria Alam Khan, an SP leader, is going viral on social media, where she is seen asking for votes on religious grounds. This is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. A written report was submitted at PS Kayamganj... The investigation will proceed accordingly."In his response the UP Deputy CM accused the SP of being frustrated due their poor performance.

"Votes are being showered on Lotus (BJP symbol) due to which SP, BSP and Congress are highly frustrated. This mindset of 'vote jihad' is quite precarious. After a full-fledged investigation, whoever is guilty, action should be taken against them. I stand strongly in criticism against it; it cannot be accepted either by state or country," Keshav Prasad Maurya said.

Talking about 'Viksit Bharat', Maurya said, "Now, the country is moving forward with the aim of development, with the guarantee of making a 'Viksit Bharat,' with the improvement of lives of poor people, women empowerment, with the bright future of youth..."The Deputy Chief Minister also said that the 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keeping the country united.

Taking a jibe at SP's Akhilesh Yadav and Congress' Rahul Gandhi, Maurya said, "They are questioning vaccines, are they scientists? If some vaccine was made... both of them raised questions on the Covid vaccine by saying that this is the vaccine of Modi, vaccine of BJP... These kinds of irresponsible statements from the ones who have been in power are so wrong."Expressing his confidence of winning the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Maurya said that the BJP will win Lucknow as well as all the 80 seats of Uttar Pradesh. "Until the 2024 elections, these people (SP and Congress) will say that they are fighting the elections, they are winning the elections but the truth is that they are losing elections and have already lost the elections... All the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh as well Lucknow seat will be gained by the BJP..."He added further, "People have sidelined SP, BSP, and Congress and have given their blessings to PM Narendra Modi and will make him the Prime Minister for a third time."Uttar Pradesh sends a maximum of 80 seats to the Lok Sabha. The polling in the state is happening in all seven phases. The counting is scheduled for June 4.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the winner by securing the majority of seats available. Of 80 seats, the BJP won 62, followed by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 10 seats, the Samajwadi Party (SP) with five seats, and the Apna Dal with two seats. (ANI)