Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath defends BJP on development and Ram temple donation scandal

Yogi Adityanath inaugurated 102 development projects in Rampur worth about Rs 690 crore and used the iconic Rampuri knife as a symbol of the BJP's security and development agenda. He accused the previous Samajwadi Party government of "using the Rampuri knife to grab people's land" and claimed the state has shed its "BIMARU" tag with top‑three economic performance, citing growth in sugar, ethanol, food‑grains and milk production.

At the same event the chief minister responded to Congress accusations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP‑RSS apparatus are shielding those alleged to have embezzled donations for the Shri Ram Temple. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the alleged theft is "an attack on the faith of 100 crore Hindus" and demanded the SIT report be made public. Adityanath rebuked the opposition, saying parties that once opposed the Ram temple now invoke its name and warned that "Lord Ram will punish those who attacked his devotees".

Both speeches framed the BJP as a force for law‑and‑order, development and religious fidelity while portraying the opposition as hypocritical and complicit in past corruption.