Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh has moved on from the traditional politics of caste, religion, corruption, and familialism and on to the path of “endless possibilities”, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said Saturday as his government marked its sixth year.
Addressing a press conference to mark the occasion, Adityanath said that his government had identified 10 sectors and worked towards them.
“UP, for which, people would say development was not possible, today has become riot-free. Infrastructure has improved in the last six years. Now, UP is counted among the states with the best infrastructure,” he said.
Speaking about upcoming infrastructure projects in the state, such as the Ganga Expressway, a 594-km long six-lane highway that would connect Meerut and Prayagraj and pass through 12 districts of the state., Adityanath said UP today isn’t a state of “updravi (disorder) but of utsav (celebration)”.
“UP today is not a state of mafias but festivals. Words like gundaraj (rowdy rule), mafiaraj (mafia rule), and pariwarvad (familialism) are things of the past,” the chief minister said.
Emphasising his government’s aim to make the ‘MahaKumbh 2025’ a grand success, Adityanath said that the dispensation was pushing towards completing the Ganga Expressway before then.
The ‘MahaKumbh 2025’ refers to the Kumbh Mela — a major Hindu festival that’s celebrated every 12 years. It will be held in Prayagraj in 2025.
“It is the government’s effort to complete the work of the Ganga Expressway, which is set to link western UP with eastern UP, by 2025 so that devotees are able to reach Prayagraj to attend the Maha Kumbh,” Adityanath said.
Adityanath’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) showcased the ‘Ardh Kumbh Mela’ held in Prayagraj in 2019 as one of its major successes ahead of that year’s General Election.
Praising the Adityanath administration’s efforts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Kumbh had showcased the best of India’s “culture and spirituality”. NITI Aayog, the Modi government’s advisory body, too had praised the administration for its arrangements.
The Mahakumbh 2025 has found regular mention in Adityanath’s speeches in the last few years. Adityanath recently became the chief minister with the longest uninterrupted tenure in Uttar Pradesh.
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‘Biggest achievement — change in perception’
Elaborating on his government’s achievements, the chief minister said that in the past six years, his administration had proved that with continuous coordination and dialogue, a majority government could achieve stability. Adityanath said the changing perception of Uttar Pradesh was his government’s “biggest achievement”.
“Earlier, people would view it with suspicion, but today, on hearing the name of UP, outsiders have a shine on their faces,” he said. “Perception has been changed and this is the biggest achievement of the double-engine government. Our youths today, don’t face an identity crisis. Today, our youth cannot face any trouble that could lead them to hide their identity. Today, wherever they go, people would respect them and give them work according to their abilities and capabilities.”
The last six years have seen foundations of industrial projects worth Rs 5 lakh crore being laid, he said, adding that many units had already begun production.
“Over 1 crore dependent elderly women got pensions and the disabled got Rs 12,000 a year as pensions,” he claimed. “UP has become the number one state in ethanol production and is moving towards achieving the ‘one district, one medical college goal’”.
In the last six years, 52,77,000 houses have been sanctioned in rural and urban areas under the PM Awas Yojana while over one lakh houses have been sanctioned under the CM Awas Yojana, he claimed.
“They have been given to communities like Musahar, Vantangiya, Tharu, Kol, and Sehariya, which had been untouched by government policies since Independence,” he claimed. While Musahars are Dalits, the others come under Scheduled Tribes in Uttar Pradesh.
The chief minister also released a booklet titled Chhah Saal: UP Khushhal (translation: ‘Six years, UP Prosperous’) to mark the occasion.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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