Urging people to defeat candidates of parties propagating dynastic politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed that only the Bharatiya Janata Party government was working for the betterment of life of the poor as other parties worked for the interests of their family.
Addressing poll rallies in Ballia and Maharajganj, the prime minister said that the fast changing global scenario called for a self-reliant and powerful India as well as a strong Uttar Pradesh, which the opposition parties headed by corrupt and selfish dynasts were incapable of delivering.
"From agriculture to military and from seas to space, India has to be strong to tackle global challenges as every individual is going to be impacted by them. Therefore, your vote is not only for the development of your district or Purvanchal region, but also for making India strong and powerful," he said.
Modi further said that these dynasts misguided people on India’s indigenously developed Covid vaccines which every patriotic Indian was proud of.
"They tried to hurt India’s self-confidence for their selfishness. Throughout the pandemic, they stayed indoors for their safety while the BJP government reached out to people to help them. Today, with the administration of 175 crore Covid vaccines doses, India is far ahead of the world in vaccination. But, those who have attacked India's self-confidence and its attempts to achieve self-reliance should not be forgiven. They must be defeated in this election," he reminded people.
The prime minister said that despite being a border town and having a very fertile land, Maharajganj was denied basic amenities and infrastructure by the previous governments as they were only interested in creating caste divides for petty political gains.
"During their governments, sugar mills were shut down and farmers’ conditions worsened. Despite being a border town, Maharajganj had very poor roads and power supply. Today we are building a massive network of roads in border towns and expressways in Purvanchal. We have also announced the Vibrant Village Programme in the 2022 Budget in order to develop border villages. We have inaugurated Kushinagar International Airport, which will boost UP’s tourism, creating employment opportunities in various sectors for the youth of the Purvanchal region," he said.
Modi said the difference between parties driven by dynasts and the BJP was that while the former was only concerned about the prosperity, health and well-being of its clan, the BJP’s initiatives were aimed at the well-being, happiness and prosperity of the people, including the poor, Dalits, women, youth and the middle class.
"That’s why we have provided an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat so that people can afford treatment at private hospitals. We are opening medical colleges in every district of Uttar Pradesh so that Hindi-medium medical aspirants can pursue medical education and achieve their goals. We are building hospitals so that poor people do not have to travel long distances for treatment," he said.
The prime minister said that the BJP government had been providing ration to 15 crore poor people in the state since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which during previous governments was looted by the ration mafia. He added that scholarships were being provided to talented students while a skill development programme had been launched so that youths did not remain unemployed after graduation.
"Mudra Yojana has also been launched for enterprising youths. Yogiji is trying to ensure that you get all your rights," he said.
"Modi worries about your health and well-being. Modi thinks of development and empowerment of the country. Therefore, we need your blessing for the development of Purvanchal, progress of Uttar Pradesh and empowerment of India," he said.
Exuding confidence that the BJP would have a massive victory in 2022 assembly elections, Modi said that as the elections were moving from the west to the east region, the margin on BJP’s victory was also increasing.
"People have risen above castes to move on the expressway of development. The Yogi Adityanath government has restored law and order in UP, including Ballia, where traders lived under constant threat of extortionists during previous governments. Girls and women feel much safer today during the BJP regime," he said.
Modi further pointed out that five lakh farmers of Ballia had received Rs 700 crore under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi in the last five years, adding that the National Democratic Alliance government accorded priority to smaller farmers who were neglected by the previous governments and who constitute 90 per cent of the total population of the farming fraternity in the country.
The prime minister pointed out, "New roads have been built while some were also being widened in Ballia. Power supply has also improved remarkably in Ballia during the Yogi government.”
Modi said that Ballia had special significance for him because he launched Ujjwala Scheme from there, which had transformed the lives of rural women with provision of nine crore LPG connections. He also mentioned Matri Vandana Yojana under which Rs10,000 crore was transferred to pregnant women’s accounts to protect children from malnutrition, Mission Indradhanush for vaccination of children, building of houses and toilets and supply of safe drinking water through taps and opening of Jan Aushadhi Kendras as some of the measures taken by the BJP government to protect the health of poor and middle class people.