Accusing successive Congress governments of doing nothing to boost connectivity in Uttarakhand when it was part of Uttar Pradesh or after its separation from it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warned people not to commit any mistake in their choice when the state goes to polls on February 14. Describing the elections as vital for Uttarakhand which will strengthen its foundation and the work will be carried forward over the next 25 years, he asked people to vote for a ”double engine” government. ”I have a special bond with the state. I am aware of your problems and aspirations. Wouldn’t you want someone who has lived amidst you, work for you in government? But if those with a track record of putting only roadblocks in the development of Uttarakhand come in between (you and me), even I would not be able to do much for the state…,” he said during a virtual rally in the poll-bound state. ”Can you give power to people who showed disregard for your basic needs and did injustice with you for years?” he asked. Modi asked people to commit no mistake and vote for ”double engine” government which will help make this decade that of Uttarakhand. Accusing successive Congress governments at the Centre and in the state of not doing anything to boost connectivity in the state despite being in power for years, he said its leaders kept coming to the state for picnicking, but never thought of doing anything for its tourism or pilgrimage sites. Generations of Uttarakhandis were forced to migrate from their villages in the hills due to lack of basic infrastructure like roads, he said. The prime minister asserted that the BJP government had sanctioned Rs 33,000 crore for construction of roads and highways in the state in seven years, while the UPA spent only Rs 2,800 crore in seven years when it was in power. Under the PMGSY, UPA built only 3,800 km of roads, while the BJP has built 13,500 km of roads since coming to power at the Centre in 2014, Modi said. The Centre has already given Rs 12,000 crore for the Chardham all-weather road and 90 per cent of work on the project has already been done, he said. ”The double engine government is redeveloping Kedarnath and Badrinath. It has also plans to connect the Hanuman Gadhi temple near Nainital with a ropeway besides Hemkund Sahib in Chamoli district,” Modi said. Modi also spoke of the ‘Parvatmala Yojana’ and India’s first digital university for which provisions have been made in the general budget this year, saying people living in remote hill areas of the state are going to benefit hugely from these projects. Taking a dig at Congress’ slogan of ”Char Dham Char Kam”, he said the four projects of Congress would be to ”serve only one family, stall development projects so that they can exploit them long to fill their pockets, indulge in corruption and appeasement.” Hitting out at the opposition party of talking about establishing a Muslim University in Uttarakhand, he said it was a clear example of the party’s ”politics of appeasement”.
”Congress can never get rid of its politics of votebank and appeasement. It wlll adopt a policy of discrimination even in the implementation of development projects if elected,” he said. Modi also alleged that the Congress was opposed to the creation of Uttarakhand and hence would never want its development. Without naming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he said its government had packed off Uttarakhandis in buses from Delhi in the difficult times of the Covid pandemic and is now asking for ”your votes”. The prime minister said he is looking forward to coming in person to Srinagar for a rally on February 10 to be face-to-face with the people of the state and take their blessings directly.
