Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 18: Amidst criticism of the BJP government in Delhi of misusing central agencies for political gains, the prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday ripped through the opposition claiming that these parties were encouraging mafia culture in Uttar Pradesh which was being cleaned by the Yogi Adityanath government.
In the process he coined a new nickname for the UP chief minister, “UP+Yogi=UPYOGI” (Useful). “Today…when mafias face the bulldozer, the bulldozer razes illegal construction but the pain is felt by those who nurture them. That is why the people are saying – ‘UP + Yogi. Bahut hai Upyogi‘ (UP+ Yogi is very useful),” the Prime Minister said while laying the foundation stone of the ₹ 36,230 crore Ganga Expressway project in Uttar Pradesh just months ahead of the critical state polls.
His potshot on the opposition came soon after the former UP Chief Minister and the president of the Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav attacked the Modi government as the income tax department launched an all-out raid on the SP leaders in different parts of the state, including Mainpuri – the stronghold of the Yadavs. Shortly after the tax searches started, Yadav accused the BJP of misusing the central probe agencies.
“Abhi to Income Tax department aaya hai, Enforcement Directorate aayega, CBI aayega (Right now, now the tax department has come… the Enforcement Directorate will come, CBI will come) but the cycle (the Samajwadi Party’s poll symbol) will not stop,” he said.
Hitting back Yadav, Modi accused the opposition leaders with misusing public funds for their personal gains. “Earlier how the money of the people has been used, and in what manner… you have seen it … but today the money of UP is being used for development work. Earlier these projects started on paper so they could fill their coffers. Today, these projects are ensuring your money is saved and is in your pocket,” Modi said.
Amid attacks from the opposition leaders over the big launch events in UP ahead of the state polls, Modi said: “There are some political parties that have a problem with the country’s heritage and progress.. problem with heritage because they have a vote bank headache. The problem with progress is these people cannot make the poor always dependent on them. These people have a problem with the Kashi Vishwanath Dham, the Ram temple in Ayodhya.”
“These people raise questions on the actions of the Army, Make-in-India scheme, the handling of the pandemic… This is a great country, governments come and go… We should be happy with the progress of the country but alas these people do not think like this.”
To be built at a cost of Rs 36,230 crores, the six-lane Ganga Expressway project launched on Saturday will be expandable to eight lanes. The expressway — one of the longest in the country — will pass through twelve districts to connect western and eastern Uttar Pradesh. The 594-kilometre expressway will span across the districts of Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj. It will start from Bijauli village in Meerut and end near Prayagraj’s Judapur Dandu and fly across 140 rivers and water bodies.
The project was undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), which roped in IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd for constructing it. IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd said it has received a letter of award from the UPEIDA for developing the Group 1 of Ganga Expressway greenfield project. It also said it will develop the 129.7-km stretch from Meerut to Badaun under Group 1 of the four groups of the project, with a cost outlay of Rs 6,555 crore.
The UP government also plans to build a 3.5-kilometre airstrip on the expressway in Shahjahanpur district, to assist emergency take-offs and landing of Indian Air Force planes. At some places, helipads will also be developed for emergency landings and operation of air-ambulances.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said public facilities, including a trauma centre, would also come up along the expressway. An industrial corridor with various clusters along the expressway has also been proposed.
A total of 12,000 people will be hired on a temporary basis for the construction of the expressway. Once finished, it will employ around 100 people at toll plazas. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Expressway will also give a push to multiple sectors including industrial development, trade, agriculture, tourism among others.
Continuing his tirade against the opposition parties, Modi said poor law and order triggered exodus of people from Uttar Pradesh earlier, but during the past four and half years bulldozers have razed unauthorised properties of mafias, causing pain to those patronising them.
“You are well versed with the situation here and the law-and-order situation in western Uttar Pradesh before the Yogi Adityanath government came. In the earlier days, as the sun set, people flashing ‘katta’ (country-made pistols) used to come on the streets to make the lives of people hell,” Modi said, adding the “culture of katta” has ended now under the Adityanath government.
Hailing the State government’s action against mafias, he said “Aaj jab mafia par bulldozer chalta hai…bulldozer to gair kanooni imaraat par chalta hai…par dard usko ‘palne-posne’ wale ko hota hai” (today when bulldozers raze unauthorised properties of mafias, the pain is felt by those patronising them).
Intensifying his attack on the opposition ahead of the crucial assembly elections, the Prime Minister said, “There are some political parties, which have problems with the country’s heritage and development. “These people have problems with cleaning of river Ganga. These are the people who raise questions on the action of the Army on terrorists. These are the people who bring the made-in-India coronavirus vaccine under the scanner. They have a problem with the grand dhaam of Baba Vishvanath in Kashi, and these people have a problem with the grand temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya,” Modi said, hitting out at his rivals.
Emphasising on the benefits of a double engine government, he said, “If you remember the condition of the state five years ago, barring a few areas of the state, electricity could not be found in other cities and villages. The double engine government not only gave 80 lakh free power connections, but every district is getting more electricity than before.”
He claimed that more than 30 lakh poor people got pucca houses in Uttar Pradesh and this campaign would continue to cover all the remaining entitled beneficiaries. The Prime Minister said the priority of the government was to strengthen those who are lagging behind in the society or are backward, and make the benefits of development reach them. “This feeling is also visible in our agriculture policy and the policy related to the farmers,” he said.
“That day is not far when UP will be identified as the most modern state with next-generation infrastructure. The network of expressways in UP, the new airports being built, new rail routes being laid down are bringing several blessings to people of UP simultaneously,” Modi said.
