Madhya Pradesh government has released pictures comparing its roads with those in the US.
Panned for his recent declaration that
roads in Madhya Pradesh were superior than those in the US, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while talking to NDTV, reiterated that he would prefer the Super Corridor to reach the Indore Airport than take the road from the Washington DC Airport to the city. After his remarks sparked instant backlash, he asked his critics "if the roads were better in his state, why wouldn't he mention it?"
His government soon
released a series of photographs which compared the state's smooth and shiny roads with potholed and scarred roads in metropolitan cities like New York and Los Angeles. The United States' road network exceeds 65.8 lakh km, the world's longest and biggest road network.
While asserting that the government has constructed 1.75 lakh km of roads in the state and "connected all villages with roads" in the last decade or so, he admitted that America has good infrastructure too, but said he wanted to change the attitude that "everything is great in America, and everything is bad in India".
To support his claim, he highlighted women's participation in local and national politics which he said was "far greater in India". He said that "50% mayors here are women" and "we have had a woman prime minister and president" whereas in the US "
hote hote reh gaya (something that was about to happen but didn't)" in reference to Hillary Clinton's defeat in the Presidential election last year.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan was in New York to attract investors to MP.
Mr Chouhan, who was in New York for a week with an objective to attract investors to Madhya Pradesh, stressed that his remarks should be seen in the context that it is "his duty, and responsibility to market Madhya Pradesh." He met investors in Washington DC and New York and announced a Rs 100 crore entrepreneurship venture capital fund for Madhya Pradesh. He also held talks with US defence manufacturers who showed interest in his state.
His remarks had also prompted the
Congress to demand the revocation of his diplomatic visa for "violating diplomatic limitations" by commenting on condition of roads in US. State Congress president Arun Yadav even appealed to US President Donald Trump to "register a case against the MP CM under the law of the land for insulting America".
Shifting gears to 2019 elections, when asked if nationalism and development would continue be the BJP's chief election promises, Mr Chouhan said his focus would only be "development, development and development".
Steering clear of the latest controversies around Taj Mahal and Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary, he said he supports the party's view and that "the party's opinion is my opinion".