Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of various developmental projects, in Bulandshahr, Thursday, January 25, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: Within days of consecrating the Ram Lala idol at Ram Temple in Ayodhya, prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday sounded the poll bugle at a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahar district, where he invoked Lord Rama again and showcased the developmental initiatives undertaken by the centre and the state governments while slamming the rivals for neglecting the development of the state.
Addressing the meeting after flagging off two goods train on the 173-km long double line electrified section between New Khurja and New Rewari on the Dedicated Freight Corridor, the prime minister said that he did not sound poll bugle but sounded development bugle.
''Maine dekha kuch media channel keh rahe the aaj Modi Lok Sabha chunav ka bugle bajane wale hain....Modi vikas ka bugle bajata hai...Modi ko chunavi bugle bajane ki jaroorat nahin hai...janata Modi ke liye aisa karti hai,'' (Some media channels said that Modi will be sounding the poll bugle today....Modi sounds development bugle...Modi does not need to sound poll bugle...the people do it for Modi), he said.
In his speech, the prime minister invoked Lord Rama and said that the time had come to 'consecrate the reputation of the nation after consecration of the Ram Lala. ''Our goal is to make India a developed country by 2047,'' he added.
In an apparent dig at his rivals over their demand for caste census, Modi said that for a long time, the parties which rued the state behaved like kings. ''For them the easiest way to power to keep the people deprived and divide the society...many generations in UP have suffered its consequences and the country has also suffered,'' he said.
The prime minister also showcased the welfare schemes being undertaken by the centre for the benefit of the farmers by providing them security in terms of fertilisers and other things.
He also attacked the Congress in a veiled manner and said that some people only worked to make a few people rich in the name of 'garibi hatao;. ''For a long time these people chanted garibi hatao and kept lying in the name of social justice...but only a few were benefitted,'' he said.
Talking about Modi ki guarantee, which is aimed at achieving saturation of welfare schemes, the prime minister said, "What our government says, it does. Our efforts are directed at ensuring that the benefits of government schemes reach all beneficiaries. Modi is giving a guarantee of saturation, guarantee of a cent per cent (saturation of schemes)."
"When the government reaches all beneficiaries, then there is no scope for discrimination, there is no scope for corruption," he asserted.
The prime minister added that he wanted to reach all the needy people quickly without any discrimination.
"For a long time after Independence, someone gave a slogan of Garibi Hatao, someone kept lying about social justice but the poor people of the country saw that only a few families got rich and their politics flourished," he said in an apparent attack at the Congress.
Modi also said that he saw a few channels that claimed he would sound the poll bugle with this programme.
"I saw in the media that Modi will sound the election bugle in Bulandshahr. Modi sounds the bugle of development, Modi sounds the bugle for the welfare of the last person in the queue. Modi neither needed to sound the poll bugle earlier nor does he need it now and will not need it in the future. People keep doing it for him," he said.
"When people sound the bugle for him, Modi does not need to spend time in it, he spends time in serving the people," the prime minister added.
He further said that for decades after Independence, development was kept confined to a few regions and a big part of the country was deprived.
Modi added that Uttar Pradesh was ignored for decades after the Independence as those who ran the governments behaved like rulers and kept the people deprived.
"Such people saw the path of dividing society as an easy route to attain power," Modi said, asserting that it was the BJP's double-engine government that gave pace to development in Uttar Pradesh.
Building a developed India is not possible without the fast-paced development of Uttar Pradesh, he added.
The prime minister also said that farmers' interests were his government's top priority and it was creating a suraksha kavach (protective shield) around their families.
"This region gave us Kalyan Singh, who dedicated his life to Ram Kaaj and Rashtra Kaaj," Modi said in Bulandshahr.
"In Ayodhya, I said pran pratishtha has been completed, now it is time to take rashtra pratishtha to new heights," he added.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister inaugurated a 173-km-long double-line electrified section between New Khurja and New Rewari on the dedicated freight corridor (DFC) by flagging off goods trains from the two stations through video conference.
He also launched a rail line connecting the Mathura-Palwal section and the Chipiyana Buzurg-Dadri section. These new lines will improve rail connectivity of the national capital to southern-western and eastern India.
Modi unveiled multiple road development projects. He also inaugurated Indian Oil's Tundla-Gawaria pipeline. Built at a cost of about Rs 700 crore, this 255-km-long pipeline project has been completed well ahead of its scheduled time.
The prime minister further inaugurated the renovated Mathura sewerage scheme, including the construction of a sewage treatment plant at a cost of about Rs 460 crore.
On the occasion, Modi was presented with an idol of Lord Ram by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.