I am 'adopted son' of UP, says PM Modi

He said the future of the state cannot be ensured without ridding it of SP, BSP, Congress

Calling himself the “adopted son” of UP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the future of the state could not be ensured without ridding it of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress. Invoking Lord Krishna at an election meeting here to suggest a strong connect between Gujarat and UP, Modi, who represents Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, said the state was his “mai-baap” (parents) and he will not desert it.

“Vote for a full majority to the Bharatiya Janata Party. I promise to show you the ways of all the problems you are facing within five years,” he said, telling the crowd that all pollsters had predicted BJP getting massive support in the first two phases of polling.

Highlighting the problems faced by the state and its national importance, Modi said poverty will be removed from the country only when it is eradicated from UP.

“This is the land of Ganga and Yamuna where the land is most fertile with crores of labourours but poverty still exists here...why is this so? There is nothing wrong with the people here or their capabilities or shortage of resources,” he said.

A Rs 11,000-cr floating economy

A Rs 11,000-cr floating economy

The world over, large religious congregations are known to be disaster-prone. However, Indian cities seem to have cracked the code of organising events largely free from mishaps. We look at three recent religious congregations, hosted in Ujjain, Allahabad and Puri, that have become international case studies

Ujjain Kumbh Mela, Madhya Pradeshn

Madhya Pradesh started preparation for the Ujjain Kumbh mela way back in 2012, with an initial budgetary allocation of Rs 100 crore. State's Finance MinisterJayant Malaiya demanded Rs 2,800 crore from the central government for infrastructure development in Ujjain to ease traffic pressure and ensure better health facilities, as well as uninterrupted power supply during the mela, also known as Simhastha Kumbh. In 2014-15, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhanwrote to Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, demanding Rs 3,500 crore, to which Jaitley wrote back confirming the release of only Rs 100 crore.

Later, in the 2016 Budget, the state made a provision of Rs 200 crore. Construction of 13 flyovers and 11 new roads required Rs 2,000 crore, besides a wide sewage network, 3,000-hectare land levelling, 100-km power line and creation of new ghats on an eight-km stretch.

Interestingly, despite a fund crunch as pointed out by Chouhan in his letter to Jaitley, a separate 'Vichar Kumbh' (ideological congregation) of religious experts was also organised - at a cost of Rs 45 crore. This three-day marathon meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. Read more.