Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his campaign in support of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming Assembly elections by addressing a well attended rally at Parade Ground here on Saturday.
The PM made development the central point of his 46 minute long speech and claimed that in the last five years the Union Government has given projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore to Uttarakhand.
He emphatically asserted that it is very hard for the politicians to remind the people about the past promises made by them but he does it regularly. Modi recalled that five years ago he had said the ‘Pahad Ka Pani and Pahad Ki Jawani Pahad Ke Kaam Nahi Aate’ but in the last five years he has worked to remove this conception.
Launching an attack on the Congress party without naming it the PM said that a total of 288 kilometres of National Highways (NH) was constructed in Uttarakhand in a period of seven years of UPA rule and in the last seven years more than 2,000 kilometres of NH was constructed in Uttarakhand.
He added the UPA Government spent a sum of Rs 600 crore in NH construction in Uttarakhand while in the last seven years a sum of Rs 12,000 crore was spent on NH in Uttarakhand. Modi that two years ago only 1.25 lakh households had water connection but under the Jal Jeevan Mission this number has increased to 7.5 lakh.
He said it is the power of the double engine government that three new medical colleges are coming up in a small State like Uttarakhand. Modi said there was the time when the ruling party engaged in the politics of vote bank and tried to divide people on the basis of religion, caste and areas but the BJP Government has adopted a motto of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” and has dedicated itself for strengthening and empowering the people of the country.
Sticking to the development agenda, Modi said he is either inaugurating or laying foundation stones of projects worth Rs 18,000 crore which includes connectivity, health, culture, tourism, power and other sectors. “Take my word these projects will make this decade the decade of Uttarakhand,” he said.
The PM asserted his Government has focussed on developing infrastructure in the border areas, given benefit of One Rank One Pension (OROP) and modernised the armed forces.
In his address, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said after assuming the charge of the CM of the State he has taken 500 decisions in the last five months. He asked people not to get swayed by the propaganda of those who earned the title of ‘corruption king’ for rampant corruption during their tenure. In an oblique reference to the former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Dhami said those who had insulted the Sanatan Dharma and culture are now making rounds of temples.
BJP State president Madan Kaushik said a decision like abolition of article 370 can be taken by a strong leader such as Narendra Modi.
He said the PM has kept development of Uttarakhand in his highest priority. former Chief Ministers Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Tirath Singh Rawat, Vijay Bahuguna, Cabinet Ministers Harak Singh Rawat, Satpal Maharaj, Subodh Uniyal, Banshidhar Bhagat, Bishan Singh Chufal, Ganesh Joshi, Rekha Arya and Yatishwaranand also addressed the gathering on the occasion.