Modi slams Cong on triple talaq, opens several development projects in SP bastion
Setting the stage for the lok Sabha poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh, home to 80 parliamentary constituencies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday latched on to Rahul Gandhi’s reported comment on the Congress being a “party of Muslims” asking if it was so then why the party was blocking the triple talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha to the disadvantage of Muslim women.
“I have read in a newspaper that the Congress president has said the Congress is a party of Muslims, I am not surprised by this. All I want to ask is, is their party only for Muslim men or for women tooIJ Ye log Sansad mein kanoon daba kar baith jaate hain,” said Modi while addressing a public rally at Azamgarh, the parliamentary constituency of Samajwadi Party (SP) patron Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Eastern UP where he is to inaugurate a slew of infrastructure projects, sending a message that his Government is focused on the development of the State. In the SP stronghold, he laid the foundation stone for the Rs 23,000-crore Purvanchal highway, while in Varanasi, his home constituency, the Prime Minister laid foundation stones for projects worth Rs 900 crore.
On Sunday, he will visit Mirzapur, the constituency represented by BJP ally Apna Dal MP and Union Minister Anupriya Patel. Modi’s visit indicates consolidation and continuation of the BJP’s partnership with the Apna Dal in 2019 general elections too.
Modi said the take of these parties on triple talaq have exposed them. “On one side, the Centre is trying to make lives of women easy, on the other hand these people have grouped together to make the lives of women, especially Muslim women, difficult,” the Prime Minister said referring to the Congress and other Opposition parties’ clarifications on certain clauses of the triple talaq Bill which was passed by the lok Sabha but is pending in the Upper House.
As the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party, erstwhile arch rivals, seek to come together to battle out the BJP in UP and the Congress wanting to be nucleus of an alliance against the ruling party, the Prime Minister hit out at the Opposition parties.
“Those who didn’t even like looking at each other earlier, are now chanting Modi Modi. These people, out on bail, and the dynast parties now want to create obstacles on your path to development,” he said.
“We are working on not only highway but also waterway and airway. Ships sailing from Varanasi to Haldia will take this entire region ahead on the path of industrial development. Twelve airports are being developed under the UDAN scheme,” said Modi in Azamgarh.
He said the BJP Government is working to create an environment of development in UP. Commending the Yogi Government in the State Modi said, “What Yogiji did towards putting a check on crime and corruption, bringing investments to the State and making business easier for small traders, is commendable.”
“Purvanchal Expressway will take UP, especially Eastern UP, to greater heights. More than Rs 23,000 crore will be spent on it. All the cities, towns and places falling in the route will experience a change,” the Prime Minister said. He said the Purvanchal Expressway will change the face of all villages and towns it passes through.
Once the Expressway is complete, Delhi will be connected to several major towns and cities of the State of Uttar Pradesh, from Noida in the west, to Ghazipur in the east.
Addressing a public event in Varanasi, the Prime Minister said that development was stalled in the region, under the previous Governments.
“But when the people voted for us and chose the Bharatiya Janata Party Government, the region started moving forward on the path to development,” he said.
“A new Varanasi is being built for New India, its soul will be ancient but its body will be modern. There will be culture and traditions in every corner of it but the facilities provided to it will be ‘smart’,” he added.
The Prime Minister also revealed details of the upcoming projects, which have been approved. He said, “So far more than 200 projects of Rs 21,000 crore have been approved to keep river Ganga clean and see that the waste of the cities is not dumped in the river.”
He spoke about the culture of Varanasi and how world leaders are also left mesmerised by its charms, “Whenever I meet the PM of Japan, I see that he always recounts his experience in Varanasi to any Indian who meets him. The way you welcomed the President of France...they still praise it. That is the culture of Varanasi, that is the love of Varanasi.”
In Varanasi, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stones of important projects, cumulatively worth over Rs 900 crore. Among the projects are the Varanasi City Gas Distribution Project, and the Varanasi-Ballia EMU train. The foundation stone is laid for the Panchkoshi Parikrama Marg, and several projects under the Smart City Mission and Namaami Gange. The Prime Minister has also laid the Foundation Stone for an International Convention Centre in Varanasi.
On Sunday, Modi will dedicate the Bansagar Canal Project to the nation in Mirzapur. This project will provide a boost to irrigation in the region, and will be beneficial for the farmers of Mirzapur and Allahabad districts of UP.
At the same event, Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Mirzapur Medical College. He will inaugurate 108 Jan Aushadhi Kendras in the State. He will also dedicate a bridge over the River Ganga at Balughat, Chunar, which will facilitate connectivity between Mirzapur and Varanasi.