He came, read a prepared speech and left without taking questions.
Lucknow: It was touted to be a major press conference on the completion of 100 days of the Yogi Adityanath government in UP on Tuesday, but the Chief Minister took only one question, leaving journalists confused.
Deflecting the issue, Adityanath sought the cooperation of the media in helping him run the government when a scribe raised a question relating to the plight of small and medium newspapers in the state. When another journalist rose to ask a question, the CM, with folded hands, took leave.
Adityanath was flanked by Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma at the press conference at the Lok Bhawan, opposite the state legislature complex.
All the ministerial colleagues of Adityanath were seated on the dais along with the chief minister, who unveiled a 50-page booklet titled “100 din Vishwas ke (100 Days of Trust)” on his government’s performance since he assumed office on 19 March.
After he read out the highlights, journalists prepared to ask questions on farmer loan waivers, law and order and vigilantism.
However, he chose to avoid them and left without taking questions as journalists shouted at the top of their voices to know the CM’s reaction on the rapid increase in crime and his government’s failure to fulfil promises.
The infuriated journalists questioned the need to call a press conference when the CM had made up his mind as to not to entertain questions.
Government spokesman and state Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh said: “The CM had released a booklet containing achievements of the government in the first 100 days. Probably, he felt he has answered all the questions which could be raised and there was no need to take questions. That’s why he did not take questions and left.”
The BJP government in UP, which assumed office on 19 March after bagging 325 of the 403 assembly seats along with its allies, faces major challenges, some of these being raising funds for a farm loan waiver and law and order issues, including communal clashes. The loan waiver, a pre-poll promise of the BJP, has the finance department burning the proverbial midnight oil as it tries to offload the sudden fiscal burden of nearly Rs 36,369 crore.
This, coupled with the required Rs 34,000 crore for the implementation of Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, has put an additional burden of Rs 70,000 crore on the state’s coffers.
His refusal to take question from the media came on the day his mentor, PM Modi, too was in news for not entertaining journalists’ questions at the White House, where he was the State Guest of President Donald Trump.
With inputs from PTI