Appeasement weakens as UP develops, says PM
■ Modi: Previous govts kept Azamgarh backward
Slamming nepotism in politics at a public rally in Azamgarh, a parliamentary constituency considered a bastion of the Mulayam-Akhilesh Yadav family, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the “poison of appeasement is weakening” with Uttar Pradesh touching new heights of development.
Addressing a rally after dedicating and laying the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over `34,000 crores, Mr Modi slammed the Yadav family for treating Azamgarh as their bastion and alleged that because of this nepotism, some people take a dig at him and say that he does not have a family.
“In the last election, the family, which considered Azamgarh its bastion, was defeated by a youth like Dinesh (Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua, MP of Azamgarh),” Mr Modi said.
Late SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had won the Azamgarh parliamentary seat in 2014. After him, his son Akhilesh Yadav won the Lok Sabha seat in 2019. The party, however, lost the seat to the BJP’s Dinesh Lal Yadav in the 2022 by-election, which was necessitated after Akhilesh vacated the seat and decided to represent Karhal in the state Assembly.
“Due to this parivaarvad, the leaders from the Opposition parties are so frustrated that they abuse Modi. They say that Modi doesn’t have a family. They forget that the 140crore population of the country is the family of Modi,” the Prime Minister said, referring to RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, who in a rally in Bihar on March 3 asked him why he did not have a family.
Asserting that with development, nepotism in politics is weakening in the country, Mr Modi said, “As Uttar Pradesh is touching new heights of development, the poison of appeasement is weakening.”
The Prime Minister noted that Azamgarh, which was once considered backward, is a shining star today and is writing a new chapter of development for the
country.
"Today, Azamgarh is shining like a star. There was a time when there would be an event in Delhi and other states would join in. But today, the event is being held in Azamgarh and thousands of people from different parts of the country are connecting with Azamgarh," Mr Modi said.
Referring to the development projects he had inaugurated prior to his speech, the Prime Minister said that one must not link these projects with elections. He said he sped up the development work to achieve the dream of a developed India by 2047.
"I am running with speed and moving the country with speed to fulfil the promise of developed India by 2047," he said.
In his Azamgarh address, Mr Modi accused the previous Opposition governments of not keeping their promises and deceiving the public by announcing schemes with no intention to start on them.
"Sometimes they (the Opposition) would announce new railway schemes while sitting in Parliament, believing no one would ask later. I have reviewed the announcements that were made 30-35 years ago. Sometimes they would lay the foundation stone before an election and then disappear. Today the country is witnessing that
◗ IN HIS Azamgarh address, Mr Modi accused the previous Opposition governments of not keeping their promises and deceiving the public by announcing schemes with no intention to start on them
Modi is a different kind of person," he said.
The Prime Minister further noted that the planning for urbanisation that is going on in the country should have been done 30 years ago, but it wasn't, and that he is working on making urbanisation an opportunity.
"Such a fast pace of development happens only when the government works with the right intentions and honesty. Development work on such a large scale was not possible in the previous parivaarvadi governments steeped in corruption," he said, adding that in the previous governments, Azamgarh and the Purvanchal region did not just face backwardness but also suffered due to deliberate attempts to tarnish the image of this place.
"The entire country saw how patronage was given to terrorists by the previous governments. To change this situation, the double-engine government is also working to provide new opportunities to the youth here and working in this regard continuously," Mr Modi said.