Will name roads after slain kar sevaks: UP deputy CM

Ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister announced that roads would be constructed in the state after the name of 'kar sevaks' who died in 1990 during Ram Mandir movement in Ayodhya.

Addressing a public event on Ayodhya on Wednesday, Maurya slammed the then Samajwadi Party government in the state for firing on 'unarmed Lord Ram devotees'.

"Kar sevaks had come to Ayodhya in 1990 and wanted the 'darshan' of Ram Lalla.

"The then SP government had fired bullets at the unarmed Lord Ram devotees. Many had died. Today, I announce that roads would be constructed in UP in the name of all such kar sevaks," said the deputy chief minister.

Maurya's statement comes ahead of the 2022 assembly polls in the state.

Uttar Pradesh is considered to be most important for the Bharatiya Janata Party as it has been electing the highest number of MPs to Lok Sabha for two successive terms.

With elections due in Uttar Pradesh next year, the BJP is making efforts to strengthen the organisation based on feedback from its state leaders in the wake of the outcome of panchayat polls and the murmurs from some sections over handling of the COVID-19 situation.