Lucknow, India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi blasted the opposition Monday (Feb 19) while speaking at the fourth groundbreaking ceremony of UP Global Investors Summit (UPGIS) in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state governed by his Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Advertisment

Modi said the state had moved on from the culture of red tape to laying the red carpet in the seven years of the ‘double-engine’ government. Speaking at the UP Global Investors Summit in Lucknow, the PM said the state used to witness riots and violence everywhere but now it was on the path of development.

"It has been 7 years since a double-engine government was formed in UP. In the last 7 years, the 'red tape culture' in the state has been ended and a 'red carpet culture' has been brought here. In the last 7 years, crime has reduced in UP and business culture has expanded," Modi said.

“In the last 7 years, an environment of business, development and trust has been formed in UP. The double-engine government has shown that if there is a true intention for change, nobody can stop it,” he added.

Advertisment

14,000 projects launched

Earlier in the day, PM Modi launched over 14,000 projects worth INR 10 trillion at the summit. The raft of projects comes ahead of India’s general elections in which the BJP has set the ambitious target of winning at least 370 seats.

Watch: India: Uttar Pradesh Police recruitment faces surge

Advertisment

×

Uttar Pradesh boasts 80 parliamentary seats, the highest number in any Indian state. The BJP won 64 seats here in the 2019 elections and is now eying to register a clean sweep under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand leader.

PM Modi lays the foundation of Kalki Dham temple

PM Modi also participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Hindu shrine, Kalki Dham, in Sambhal.

Also read: India: Tejashwi Yadav takes the wheel as Rahul Gandhi drives forward Bihar leg of `Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

The ceremony was also attended by Yogi Adityanath and led by Acharya Pramod Krishnam, the chief of Shri Kalki Dham Nirman Trust. A number of saints, religious leaders, and other prominent figures also attend the event.

Meanwhile, PM Modi is scheduled to visit his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, on February 24-25.

(With inputs from agencies)