October 03 : Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, targeting the opposition, said, “When Jan Dhan accounts were being opened, the opposition used to mock the initiative, asking what would be achieved by opening empty accounts. Today, it has become clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji emptied the pockets of those looting public money and ensured that the poor received their money directly in their accounts. It is natural for those whose pockets used to receive public money to feel bad and oppose it.”
The Chief Minister was addressing a theatrical series staging programme based on ‘Namo Seva Unkahi Kahaniyan’ under the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan at the Lok Bhavan auditorium on Friday. He said, “On October 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji will complete 25 years of public service as the Chief Minister of Gujarat and as the Prime Minister of the country. This is a journey of service without stopping, bowing or wavering. In this journey, schemes have been taken to various sections of society without discrimination, with a combination of heritage and development.”
He informed, “On October 7, 2001, Modi ji took charge of Gujarat at a time when the state was grappling with the tragedy of an earthquake. Thereafter, the challenge of riots also arose. Amid these circumstances, Gujarat emerged rapidly as a state and a model of development.”
He stated, “Between 2004 and 2014, there was distrust in the country due to corruption, anarchy and inefficiency under the Congress-led UPA government. There were challenges on the fronts of internal and external security as well as the economy. In 2014, villages, the poor, farmers, youth and women placed their trust in the leadership of Narendra Modi ji. Thereafter, instead of caste, faith, religion, region or language, schemes were taken forward keeping 140 crore Indians at the centre. Earlier, schemes used to be formulated, but they did not reach the ground effectively. Today, facilities such as housing, cooking gas, toilets, health insurance and free ration are reaching the poor.”
The Chief Minister said, “New opportunities for startups and employment have been created for the youth. Highways, expressways, railways, metros and airports have expanded. Earlier, no Prime Minister could claim that even a person wearing slippers could travel by aeroplane. Prime Minister Modi ji not only said this, but also demonstrated it in practice. October 7 should be a day of inspiration for every Indian. This journey is linked to fulfilling the resolve of a self-reliant and Viksit Bharat by August 15, 2047.”
He further said, “Housing was provided to those who had never received housing before. Toilets have been constructed in the homes of 12 crore poor people. Cooking gas was also provided through the Ujjwala Yojana. Those who were far removed from access to treatment were provided health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh. Today, no person in the country can go to bed hungry, as free foodgrains are being provided through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojana.”
The Chief Minister informed, “Under the double-engine government, chains of IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, IIITs and NITs have been established. Medical colleges and engineering institutions are being established. More than 2.5 lakh startups have been established in the country. Now our youth are not only job seekers, but are becoming job providers. The work of connecting 12 crore farmers with the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi has also become possible under the leadership of Modi ji.”
Before the Chief Minister’s address, as part of the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan being conducted since September 17 on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing 25 years of public service, artists of the Bharatendu Natya Akademi under the Department of Culture presented a performance.
The theatrical presentation brought to the stage the devastation caused by the Gujarat earthquake of 2001, the reconstruction of Kutch and the journey of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public service. Appreciating the presentation, the Chief Minister directed that it be expanded across the entire state.
CM Yogi said, “Local folk songs should also be incorporated into the presentation, along with Bhojpuri words in Purvanchal, Awadhi in the central region, Braj language in Braj and Bundelkhandi words in Bundelkhand.”
Chief Minister appreciated the child artists and the team of the Bharatendu Natya Akademi and also posed for photographs with the artists after the programme.
On this occasion, he also paid homage to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries.
On this occasion, BJP Awadh region president Awadhesh Dwivedi, Lucknow Mahanagar president Anand Dwivedi, Lucknow district president Vijay Maurya, Member of the Legislative Council Mukesh Sharma, BJP state ministers Ankur Sharma and Yogendra Patel, MLA Dr. Neeraj Bora, Om Prakash Srivastava, Pawan Singh Chauhan and state government advisor Avanish Awasthi, among others, were present.
