Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday accused the opposition of acting as “barriers” in the state’s development.

Addressing an event organised to mark eight years of the BJP government in the state, the chief minister said, “All those who are above 25 years of age will remember that before 2017, the public system of Uttar Pradesh was ruled by hooliganism and mafia.”

He emphasised that the situation was especially dire for the youth, farmers, and the general public. “The youth was facing an identity crisis, farmers used to commit suicide, and the poor used to die of hunger,” he added.

Underscoring the progress made under his government, Adityanath said, “This is the same state where the youth did not get jobs and when they went out of the state, they faced an identity crisis,” he said.