By Our Staff Reporter
Almora/Dehradun, 11 Feb: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a large public meeting at HNB Stadium in Almora today. He said that he was always happy to be able to come to Uttarakhand and bow to all the Deities. It was Modi’s second public meeting in Almora in eight years. Modi promised that the water and youth of the hills would be utilised for Uttarakhand.
He claimed that, from what he had seen, he could say with confidence that voters never forget the good deeds of any government. He expressed confidence that, this time too, the voters would not desert those with good intentions who serve the people. He also claimed that, from the voting that took place in Uttar Pradesh, yesterday, it was clear that the BJP would register a record victory this time as well.
Hailing the crowd in Almora, he said it was evident that BJP is set to win again in Uttarakhand as people want the double engine performance to continue.
Modi said that, to woo tourists, a network of roads was being laid in Uttarakhand, in which the Chardham All-Weather Road Project was particularly special. He alleged that, during the Corona period, the Congress did nothing but politics, while the Government and the BJP in Uttarakhand went from village to village to serve the people and also achieved the target of 100 percent vaccination even in the hills and remote areas. It was the first state to achieve cent percent first dose vaccination, he reminded.
He emphasised that this decade would be the decade of Uttarakhand, it would be the decade of development. He claimed that he had many memories associated with Kumaon region, stating he had always found the people of Uttarakhand to be of noble intentions. He expressed confidence that voters would not forget the good deeds and the development work done by the double engine government of BJP.
He alleged the Congress indulged in politics of divide and plunder. On the other hand, BJP’s mantra was ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.
Modi praised Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for completing the vaccination drive and reminded the people that the Centre had recently released an amount of Rs 17,000 crores for development works in Kumaon. He added that BJP is committed to rapid development and everyone’s progress. It would leave no effort to ensure prosperity in the state, particularly in the hills. A plan had been prepared for this with the objective of ensuring employment generation in the hills and of continuously improving connectivity. Earlier, the people used to say that the water and the youth of the hills did not prove useful for the hills, but this trend would be reversed. The BJP would ensure that youth served the state and the water of the hills was also utilised here. Every effort would be made to prevent migration from the hills. Mentioning the Katarmal Sun Temple of Uttarakhand, he said that had this temple not been neglected, it would have been as famous as the Sun Temple of Odisha. BJP would develop the temple site after coming to power again and added that tourism would be given due focus in the state. He added that the homestay scheme had gained popularity in Uttarakhand and it would be expanded further to help create large scale self employment. The double engine BJP Government would pay due focus on improving tourism and other sectors, so that the dreams of the people could be fulfilled. The land of Kumaon was the land of Pandit Nain Singh and Isar Singh, he pointed out. Praising the young leadership of the Chief Minister, he asserted that Pushkar Singh Dhami is working hard to maintain rapid progress and develop tourism and other sectors which would generate employment.
On the other hand, the Opposition leaders were hampered due to an old mindset and lack of vision. He reminded that, in the past when he used to visit Uttarakhand, he used to see women and children fetching water from far. Living conditions were so tough that they had to leave the lovely hills and migrate to big cities and live in slums there. But this would change as many projects such as the Jamrani Dam were now coming up and there would be no shortage of drinking water. Water connections would be taken to every village and for this an amount of Rs 60,000 crores had been sanctioned.
After the elections, Dhami’s government would make sure that every house got water. He claimed that many projects and schemes were stalled for decades in Uttarakhand and it was only after 2017 when BJP came to power that these stalled projects were again restarted. He also promised pucca houses for everyone in Uttarakhand. Modi claimed that Congress governments in the state would demand commission for any project and work while Modi only wanted the blessings from the people in the form of votes for the BJP.
Modi said that, under the Prime Minister’s Garib Kalyan Yojana, the BJP Government had also ensured free ration to the poor so that no home went hungry. He reminded that 80 crores of persons were getting free ration every month under this scheme. He emphasised that the BJP dreamt big and had ambitious goals. It was due to big dreams that huge projects such as railway lines to the hills and All Weather Roads were making rapid progress. In contrast, the Congress had provided a Double Brake Government. The BJP was providing as double engine government that ensured rapid development. Even the border and remote areas were being developed. Pointing out that Uttarakhand is the land of the brave, Modi said that Congress had no hesitation to even insult the brave son of Uttarakhand, General Bipin Rawat. But now the same Congress was seeking votes for itself using his name and hoardings.
