Cong govt supported jihadi elements: Yogi

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath gave a call to voters on Thursday to end the Congress rule in the state as it had divided castes, neglected farmers and supported jihadi elements. He was addressing a BJP campaign meeting here.

"The Congress is responsible for farmers' suicides. Hindus are being murdered here. Congressmen always take the Uttar Pradesh example. But neither farmers are committing suicide nor are Hindus being murdered there," the firebrand leader said.

"I have waived loans to the tune of Rs 68 lakh crore. Siddaramaiah could not write off loans to that extent. The BJP has a mission to unite the country, not divide it," the UP chief minister said. Yogi called Karnataka the land of Lord Hanuman and UP the land Lord Rama.

Targeting Siddaramaiah, he claimed that "jihadis" killing 23 BJP workers in the state in the last five years was a "proof" of the Congress party's alleged divisive politics.

"Today the Congress government in Karnataka and its chief minister, who is playing the most corrupt innings, are making the worst effort to divide the society. Their divisive politics supports terrorism," he said.

"Today, the Siddaramaiah government is using Karnataka as its automated teller machine. Thus, I have come here to tell you that Congress-free Karnataka is the need of the hour," Adityanath said.

Citing Ramayana, he said when Lord Rama was wandering in the woods, he found his most loyal devotee Hanuman in this southern state.

"It was Hanuman who was instrumental in establishing Ramarajya," Adityanath, who is also the pontiff of the Gorakhnath Mutt in UP, said.

"We belong to the tradition which does not believe in dividing society. It unites north with south, east with south. We always saw India as a united nation for we believe in "ek Bharat, sreshtha Bharat" (one India, best India)," he said.