In the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is leaving no stone unturned to sweep the state once again. In the same development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Uttar Pradesh to kick start election campaigns and inaugurated a three-day urban conclave event ‘Azadi@75. While addressing at the event, PM Modi exposed former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for not building houses for the poor.
PM Modi’s visit to Uttar Pradesh
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Lucknow to inaugurate a three-day urban conclave event ‘Azadi@75 – New Urban India: Transforming Urban Landscape’ Conference-cum-Expo, being hosted by UP’s urban development department.
Despite the major uproar by the opposition for the visit amidst the violence that erupted in Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday, PM Modi landed in the state to inaugurate the event.
“Permission to build 18K houses but not even 18 houses built”- PM Modi
During the event, PM Modi addressed the media and slammed the former Uttar Pradesh Government for its denial to build houses for the poor. He asserted, “I remember the time when despite best efforts, Uttar Pradesh was lagging behind in the construction of houses. Today, when I am in Lucknow, I think I must tell the story to you in detail. The people of UP must know this to understand how urban planning in a State becomes the victim of petty politics.”
Exposing the prior government’s refusal to build houses for the poor, PM Modi stated, “The Central government was sending money for the construction of new homes. However, the government, which existed prior to 2017 in the State, did not want to build houses for the poor at all. We had to plead with the previous government to build houses for the needy people. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the Centre had sanctioned the construction of 18000 homes prior to 2017.”
Taking a dig at the former Government, Prime Minister further added, “The then State government did not even build 18 houses for the people. Permission to build 18K houses but not even 18 houses built. These things must make you ponder. Funds were available for the construction of houses but the State government was deliberately creating hurdles. The people of UP can never forget the actions (of Akhilesh Yadav and the Samajwadi party).”
9 lakh families allocated homes under PMAY
Ever since Yogi Government came to power in 2017, the state has witnessed a dramatic change in the number of homes allocated to the poor. PM Modi, during the event, told that about 9 lakh urban poor were allocated homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana initiated by the Yogi Government. He further added that about 14 lakh new homes are in different stages of construction. PM Modi also highlighted the current situation of the urban poor, stating that they now have access to electricity, water supply, and gas connections.
Earlier this year, TFI had reported that BJP’s Chanakya Amit Shah engineered the formula to throw all the heavyweights leaders into the election battlefield, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Thus, it would not be particularly surprising if the BJP, under the leadership of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, were to surpass its own tally of 2017 this time around.