Zero plus zero results in zero': Yogi Adityanath on Priyanka's political debut

Noida: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s entry into active politics would not have any impact on the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as “zero plus zero results in zero”.

Adityanath also dubbed Priyanka Gandhi’s appointment as the Congress general secretary for eastern UP an extension of the “political dynasty” culture in the party.

“Zero plus zero results in zero. This would not make any impact on the poll outcome. With her appointment, the Congress has only extended its culture of political dynasty,” he told reporters in Noida.

Priyanka Gandhi, 47, the sister of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, was Wednesday appointed the party’s general secretary for UP East, effective from February. Her region of responsibility would also include Gorakhpur, from where Adityanath has been a five-time member of parliament.

The chief minister, who was here to inaugurate the Noida-Greater Noida Metro Rail and half-a-dozen infrastructure projects, also took on rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

“Earlier there was a jinx associated with Noida and Greater Noida. It was said that any chief minister who visits this region loses his/her chair. Hence this region remained ignored,” he said referring to former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, without naming them.

“When I became the chief minister, I was asked if I would visit the twin-cities in western UP, I said why not! Noida and Greater Noida are also part of UP. We are not working for the chair or power, we are working for the people. I have visited this region multiple times since March 2017 and would continue to do so in future,” Adityanath said.

Flanked by Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, he hit out at the previous governments for not being able to complete development works in a time-bound manner.

“During the previous Samajwadi Party’s government’s full term in the state, 20,000 houses were sanctioned under the central housing scheme for all, but in a short span of time, we have built more than eight lakh houses. We are speeding up our efforts to make more houses for the people,” he said.