Modi: Freebie culture in politics harmful for India
JALAUN: India should do away with the culture of attracting votes by distributing free sweets (revdis), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a public gathering on Saturday after inaugurating the Bundelkhand expressway in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh.
“The revdi culture is very dangerous for the development of the country,” Modi said, referring to a popular north Indian sweet distributed during festivals, using it as a metaphor for freebies promised by politicians to win votes.
“Those behind this revdi culture do not believe in building expressways, airports and defence corridors,” the Prime Minister said after throwing open the 296km, four-lane highway in underdeveloped Bundelkhand that spans Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. “Together we have to defeat this thinking and remove this culture from politics.”
Double-engine governments believe in taking a longer route and working hard for the people, he said, referring the Bharatiya Janata Party governments both at the Centre and the state.
He lauded the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Praesh and said that under his leadership, the state was undergoing a major transformation in maintaining law and order, and connectivity was fast improving.
Modi, who hit out at previous government for not working enough for Uttar Pradesh, said during the past eight years, he has realised that if two issues, law and order and connectivity, were sound, a state could face challenges and fight all odds.
“The way the Yogi government has changed the picture of the state is remarkable,” he said. “Law and order and connectivity have vastly improved.”
The Bundelkhand expressway, built at a cost of Rs 14,850 crore, connects Chitrakoot with the Lucknow-Agra expressway near Etawah. “This expressway will not only give speed to vehicles but also accelerate the industrial progress of entire Bundelkhand,” the Prime Minister said.
In the past eight years, his government did not just focus on big cities, but has been connecting smaller towns and cities, he said, which is an inclusive developmental model.
BJP governments have kept to deadlines and completed pro
jects well before time, he said. “The Kashi Vishwanath beautification was started by our government and completed by us. Meerut expressway’s foundation stone was laid by us and inaugurated by us. Bundelkhand expressway was completed in eight months before the deadline that was February next year,” Modi said.
Not only surface connectivity but air links will also be available in many smaller cities soon, he said.
Modi asked chief minister Adityanath to build a tourism circuit in Bundelkhand, which was dotted with forts on both sides of the expressway and was a repository of culture and heritage. “People in Europe visit forts in large numbers. The same can be replicated in Bundelkhand and the tourism will add to growth,” he said.
Fulfilling the dreams of India’s youth was the goal and resolve of his government, he said, adding that the houses, toilets and modern facilities poor people were getting was social justice. Bundelkhand, which the previous government considered backward and gave up for seven decades, has been linked with fast-paced development, making social justice stronger and benefiting the people, Modi said.