VARANASI, July 10 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday attacked anti-national elements and anti-social elements, vowing not to let society break and highlighted the state's mega plantation drive undertaken on the day as a campaign to turn heatwave into a green wave. Addressing a gathering in Azamgarh to mark the plantation drive, he said, "We will not let the society break and will also crush the anti-national and anti-social elements...We will also protect the health of Mother Earth and will also keep the memories of mother alive." "Yesterday, we arrested a jallad (executioner) in Balrampur. That executioner used to play with the honour of Hindu sisters and daughters. He used to bargain for money, but now strictness is being done with such elements," Adityanath said, referring to the arrest of a religious conversion racket kingpin. The chief minister made the remark after establishing Harishankari Vatika at Kerma village in Azamgarh's Sathiyawan block along the Purvanchal Expressway. Adityanath, who planted sapling number 60 lakh of the district on the occasion, thanked the people of Azamgarh and the state for being a part of the massive campaign inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The chief minister appealed to all the citizens to take trees from the forest department and plant at least one sapling in the name of one's mother. "This campaign is a means of expressing gratitude towards oneself and Mother Earth....The earth is our mother and we are her sons." "If Mother Earth is healthy, then we are all healthy. If mother earth falls ill, then a huge crisis will emerge. This drive is a programme to improve the health of Mother Earth," he said. He said before 2017, forest and mining mafia spread anarchy in the state through extensive deforestation and illegal mining. "There was no development then, rather the forest cover was decreasing. Today all of you are becoming a part of the campaign to turn heatwave into greenwave," he added. "In eight years, 204 crore saplings have been planted in UP. It is not only the Government of India or important institutions of the country, but international institutions are also accepting that the forest cover has increased in Uttar Pradesh," he said. Before 2017, the forest cover of UP was only 9% and today it has increased to 10%, he said. From preparing 5 crore saplings in 2017 to 52 crore now, this journey is also about the development of UP, he said. 'Big people did nothing for Azamgarh' In what appeared to be a veiled reference to Samajwadi Party leaders, Adityanath said Azamgarh elected big people in elections but the (Purvanchal) Expressway, a university in the name of Maharaja Suheldev, a music college, a network of roads was laid only when (Dinesh Lal Yadav) Nirahua was elected the MP (in a 2022 by-election). Asserting that the double engine government believes in development, not division, he continued his veiled attack on the SP without naming it. The people who worked for the development of their family, they committed the sin of dividing the society in the name of region, caste and language, he said. "What kind of namoone (specimens) they used to raise. Azamgarh and the youth were facing an identity crisis, but today when a youth from UP goes anywhere in the country, the name of UP brings a glow on the face of the onlooker. UP has now moved ahead in the pace of development," he said. The chief minister thanked the Azamgarh administration, stating that with the help of public representatives and common people, the task of revival of the Tamsa river has been taken up. "This river and the ashrams here have mythological importance. The campaign linking plantation with the revival of the river is commendable. Azamgarh district alone is planting 60 lakh saplings today," he said. Labour and employment minister Anil Rajbhar, minister of state for forest KP Malik, Legislative Council Member Vijay Bahadur Pathak, Vikrant Singh, former MP Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirahua', Neelam Sonkar, Santosh Singh, Sangeeta Azad, former MLA Narendra Singh, former Legislative Council Member Yashwant Singh, chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and BJP regional president Sahajanand Rai were present on the occasion. The chief minister presented drumstick saplings to Zero Poverty beneficiaries Amarjeet, Rinku Devi, Sonamti Devi, Buddhiram and Anita Devi. He also gave saplings and chocolates to Class 7 students Deepak Chauhan, Amrita Yadav and Class 8 students Shweta Maurya, Shakeena and Mohini Rajbhar. The chief minister noted that the programme of planting drumstick plants in homes has been started, adding that drumsticks are full of protein and vitamins....