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Though the assembly election in Uttar Pradesh is still several months away, Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly appreciated the energetic leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The manner in which Modi lauded the efforts of Yogi not only in fighting against the novel coronavirus pandemic but also accelerating the pace of development work, helping Uttar Pradesh to emerge as the leading investment destination of the country, clearly indicates that there is no challenge to the leadership of Yogi in UP at present.
Addressing the people at IIT-BHU Grounds here on Thursday after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of various development projects worth over Rs 1,500 crore in his parliamentary constituency, Modi said, “Today there is rule of law in UP. The mafia raj and terrorism, which were once going out of control, are now under the grip of law. The government in UP is run by development not on corruption and nepotism. That is why, the people are getting the benefits of the schemes directly and new industries are investing in the state and employment opportunities are increasing.”
Praising the state government, the prime minister said, “UP effectively handled the second wave of coronavirus whereas earlier instances of Japanese encephalitis type of diseases used to wreak havoc.”
According to him, today UP, with the highest number of tests and vaccinations, is rapidly improving its medical infrastructure as the number of medical colleges in the last four years has grown fourfold.
Going further, Modi said that about 550 oxygen plants were being established in UP out of which 14 were inaugurated in Varanasi during the day. He said that the recently announced Rs 23,000-crore package will also help UP a lot.
“Kashi is becoming a big medical hub of Purvanchal (eastern UP) and some projects that were inaugurated today will further augment the medical infrastructure of the city,” the prime minister said.
“Many projects are propelling the ancient city of Kashi on the path of development while keeping its essence safe. The projects like highways, flyovers, railway over bridges, underground wiring, solving the problems of sewer and drinking water, and promoting tourism have seen unprecedented push from the government. Even currently, work is on for schemes worth Rs 8.000 crore,” he said.
The prime minister said cleanliness and beauty of Ganga and Kashi was the aspiration and priority and for this, work was being done on every front like roads, sewage treatment, beautification of parks and ghats. He said the widening of Panchkosi Marg, the bridge on Varanasi-Ghazipur road would help many villages and adjoining cities.
The prime minister also talked about the development of Kashi as a centre of learning in modern times.
“Today Kashi also has a model school, ITI and many such institutions. Besides, CIPET’s Centre for Skilling and Technical Support will help the area in industrial development,” he said.
Modi added that UP, which was considered difficult to do business in till a few years ago, was becoming a favourite place for ‘Make in India’ today. He gave credit to the Yogi government for focusing on infrastructure development relentlessly in recent times by mentioning some ambitious projects like Defence Industrial Corridor, Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway, Gorakhpur Link Expressway and Ganga Expressway. The prime minister said that a special fund of Rs 1 lakh crore had been created for modernising agricultural infrastructure in the country which would now benefit the agricultural markets as well. He said this was a big step towards making the system of agricultural markets of the country modern and convenience-rich
Later, Modi inaugurated the Rudraksh Convention Centre. While addressing the intellectuals there, Modi said, “Even in the difficult days, Kashi has shown that it never stops and never tires.”
According to him, the idea of the convention centre was initiated when he along with the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the city and the present Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was associated with the project. Expressing his thanks to his Japanese counterpart for his inspiring message screened during the function, Modi expressed hope that Rudraksh would become a big global centre, promoting rich handicrafts, art, literature and music of the city.
Earlier, Yogi Adityanath welcomed the participants while the function was also attended by Governor Anandiben Patel, BJP incharge of UP affairs Radha Mohan Singh and Japanese Ambassador in India Suzuki Satoshi. Earlier, Modi inspected the MCH wing and Regional Eye Institute of BHU and talked with the medical fraternity there.