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Not afraid of being in same frame as an industrialist, says PM Modi

Modi in UP: "Be it setting up of fibre or establishment of IT centre for internet service in Uttar Pradesh, digital infrastructure will give a new direction, new pace to the state."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the gathering at the inaugural ceremony in Lucknow on Sunday. (Express photo/Vishal Srivastav) Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the gathering at the inaugural ceremony in Lucknow on Sunday. (Express photo/Vishal Srivastav)

In what he termed as a “record-breaking event”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 81 investment projects worth Rs 60,000 crore in Lucknow on Sunday. During his fifth visit in the past one month to the state which has 80 Lok Sabha seats, the PM launched the projects which were pledged to the state during the UP Investor’s Summit in February.

“More than ground-breaking event, it is record-breaking event. This is an unimaginable achievement of the UP government,” Modi said while lauding the Yogi Adityanath-led government in bagging the investments.

While addressing his “industrial friends” at the ceremony, he said, “Last time we met during the UP Investors Summit in February. I am elated to see a huge step being taken to deliver the promises made there on the ground.” He added, “Investors are an important unit towards nation-building and their prosperity is linked to the dreams of millions of youngsters of the country.”

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Eighty industrialists, including major firms such as Birla, Reliance, and Adani attended the ceremony alongside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Eighty industrialists, including major firms such as Birla, Reliance, and Adani attended the ceremony alongside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. (Express photo/Vishal Srivastav) Eighty industrialists, including major firms such as Birla, Reliance, and Adani attended the ceremony alongside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. (Express photo/Vishal Srivastav)

Hitting back for the first time at critics who questioned his perceived friendly relations with corporates, Modi said that unlike “some people” he was “not afraid of” publicly standing beside industrialists and business magnates because his intentions were “noble”.

Festive offer

He said industrialists too contribute to nation building and it was not right to label them all as thieves but those who do wrong “will have to leave the country” or live in jail.

“We are not the people who will be afraid of standing beside industrialists. You would be knowing some people (who are such) that you would not find a single photo of them with an industrialist/businessman. But there is not a single businessman in this country who would not have gone to these people’s places and bowed to them in reverence,” Modi told a government-industry interface here as he inaugurated several development projects for Uttar Pradesh.

Asserting that the investment of Rs 60,000 crore was not by any account small, the PM said, “I’ve long been chief minister and have helmed a state linked to industrial activity. Investment of Rs 60,000 crore is not low. You have done an unimaginable work.”

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Modi added that the manner in which development works have been carried out in such a short span of time has never been seen before in Uttar Pradesh. “This is a symbol of trust, enthusiasm, and development of Uttar Pradesh today. When the intention is clear and the intentions are noble, the result shows. At this speed, UP will soon become a trillion dollar economy,” he said.

“Be it setting up of fibre or establishment of IT center for internet service in Uttar Pradesh, digital infrastructure will give a new direction, new pace to the state,” he added.

"India is being recognised as a mobile manufacturing hub; we've become the second largest mobile manufacturer in the world," PM Modi said. (Express photo/Vishal Srivastav) “India is being recognised as a mobile manufacturing hub; we’ve become the second largest mobile manufacturer in the world,” PM Modi said. (Express photo/Vishal Srivastav)

Claiming that the country is becoming the hub of mobile manufacturing with more than 50 mobile manufacturing units in UP itself, Modi said, “India is being recognised as a mobile manufacturing hub; we’ve become the second largest mobile manufacturer in the world.”

The PM also said that investors are an important unit towards nation-building and their prosperity is linked to the dreams of millions of youngsters of the country. “The country’s former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said he would like to see India as a prosperous, competent and sensitive country where there is no chasm between villages and cities,” he said, adding that all households will get electricity by March next year.

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Read | PM Modi hits back at Rahul Gandhi: I consider ‘bhagidar’ comment a compliment

Modi also took a dig at the previous non-BJP governments in the state for lack of development, saying, “they did not have the will and their intentions were not clear”. “We want to create an atmosphere where there is no scope for any kind of discrimination,” he said, adding, “Whatever ills the country is facing today dates back to 70 years of governance.”

On Saturday, Modi laid the foundation stones and inaugurated 99 urban development projects for Uttar Pradesh worth Rs 3,897 crore. He also gave away different awards on the occasion to mark three years of the government’s flagship programmes.

First uploaded on: 29-07-2018 at 15:21 IST
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