Jalaun (UP) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday termed the distribution of free gifts among the public to woo voters — a rebri culture — that will one day prove fatal for the country and warned the youth to be cautious.
He said this particular political culture flourishing across the nation has to be addressed collectively.
After inaugurating Bundelkhand Expressway in Kaithari village of Orai, Modi said: “Today all efforts are being made to bring a culture of mustering votes by distributing freebies. This ‘freebies culture’ is fatal for the development of the nation. The youths especially must remain very cautious of this culture,” he said.
Appealing to the people to end this culture, Modi said, “The people of ‘freebies culture’ will never construct expressways for you, neither new airports nor defence corridors.
“The people of ‘rebri culture’ will buy the public by distributing freebies. We have to defeat their mindset collectively and have to remove this freebie culture from the politics in the country.” Rebri is a winter sweet of jaggery or sugar mixed with sesame seeds that are made into bite size pieces, children love these and it is widely distributed.
He said in Uttar Pradesh the double engine government is not adopting any shortcut by distributing such freebies. “It is working hard to make a better future for the state,” he said.
Inaugurating the expressway in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya, Brajesh Pathak and Union Minister Bhanu Pratap Verma alongside other public representatives, he dedicated it to the glorious tradition of Bundelkhand.
He said it will connect the region with development and self-employment. “Earlier it was believed that only big cities get the benefit of better roads, but with the current government that has changed and the mood has also changed.
“This is Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas really means. Balanced development of the country is what social justice stands for.
“Balanced development of big and small cities is a type of social justice. Connecting every village with roads, giving facilities like pucca houses and toilets to the poor ensures social justice,” he said.
Before 2014, Modi said Uttar Pradesh faced two main challenges — poor law and order and poor connectivity.
“Earlier when I used to come to UP, I used to feel that if these two challenges are corrected, then UP can challenge the challenges. Today law and order has improved and connectivity has also become better,” he said.
Referring to family and traditional culture of manufacturing toys for children in UP, specially in Bundelkhand region, he said, “Toy making has been a traditional business in India. I requested the toy industry to work afresh and also asked the people to buy Indian toys.”
He said that works which were needed at the government level to promote this industry were also done. “As a result of this, the number of toys that were imported from abroad earlier has reduced to a great extent. Now toys manufactured in India are being exported to other countries,” he said.
Modi said that the construction of Bundelkhand Expressway has not only reduced the travel time between Chitrakoot to Delhi by three to four hours, but its advantages are more than that. “This expressway will not only give speed to the vehicles, but it will also accelerate the industrial progress of the entire Bundelkhand region,” he said.
He said UP was ready to accelerate with new resolutions. “This is Sabka Saath and Sabka Vikas. Nobody is left behind and all work collectively progressing towards development goal of the double engine government. Work is being done on war footing so that even small districts of UP get connected with air service,” he said.
Pointing out forts dotting the region near the expressway, the PM requested the Yogi government to connect them with tourism circuits. “There are a number of forts in the area alongside the expressway. There is a huge tourism industry in many countries of Europe which is based on exploring forts. Today I will ask the Yogi government that now after the Bundelkhand Expressway is built, you should also make a huge tourism circuit to explore these forts,” he said.
He said the speed of development in UP has achieved pace. “During the previous government on average 50 kilometers of railway lines were doubled every year, today doubling is being done at a speed of average 200 km. Before 2014 there were only 11,000 common service centers in UP, today there are more than 1.30 lakh CSCs in the state. There was a time when there were only 12 medical colleges in UP. Today there are more than 35 medical colleges and work is in progress on 14 new medical colleges,” he said.
Modi said that UP, where the Saryu Irrigation Project took 40 years to get completed, the fertilizer plant remained closed for 30 years and only boards were installed in factories in Rae Bareli, the Uttar Pradesh at present is leaving behind other states in development.
“Now it is not just about highways or airways, but UP is moving ahead in every field including education and agriculture. The manner in which UP is modernising in the double engine government is unprecedented. UP is progressing in every sector,” he said.
He said that the intention and the vision of his government is very clear. “The path of development on which the country is moving today has two aspects at its core. One is intention and the other is dignity. We are not only creating new facilities for the present in the country, but we are creating the future of the country. We are building a new India of the 21st century. Our commitment for development is such that we don’t allow deadlines to be missed,” he said.
Modi said, “There are numerous examples of how we follow the time limit in UP itself. The work of beautification of Vishwanath Dham in Kashi was started by our government and it was completed by our government. Our government laid the foundation stone of AIIMS in Gorakhpur and it was our government which dedicated it to the public. Foundation stone and inauguration of Delhi-Meerut Expressway both were done by our government. Bundelkhand Expressway is also an example of this. It was scheduled to finish in February next year, but it is ready for your service 7-8 months in advance.”
He said, “The thought behind every decision we take or policy we make should be that it will propel the development of the country. We have to keep away from everything that harms the country and affects its development negatively.”
Referring to Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava, he made an emotional appeal to the people to celebrate the festival of freedom till August 15 in every village in the next one month.
Modi said that after 75 years of independence India has got the best opportunity for development. “We shouldn’t miss this opportunity. We have to take the country to new heights by doing maximum development in this period. We have to build a new India. There is also such a challenge before the new India, which if not taken care of, then the future will descend into darkness,” he said.
