Prime Minister Narendra Modi ripped into rivals today as he laid the foundation stone of the Rs 36,230 crore Ganga Expressway project in Uttar Pradesh just months ahead of the critical state polls.
"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 at the government event.
His potshot comes on a day when former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's aides were raided in different parts of the state, including Mainpuri - the stronghold of the Yadavs. Shortly after the tax searches started, Mr 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 in what seemed like a dare to the government.
Hours later, the Prime Minister hit back at the former Chief Ministers in his speech.
"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," PM Modi said.
Amid attacks from the opposition leaders over the big launch events in UP ahead of the state polls, PM 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."
The six-lane Ganga expressway project launched today is expandable to eight lanes, and it will be built at a cost of over Rs 36,230 crore.
"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," PM Modi said today.
This afternoon, while PM Modi launched the big project, Rahul Gandhi led an anti-inflation rally in his former Lok Sabha constituency Amethi where he criticised the government over various policy decisions.
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