The path to achieving the country’s target of becoming a USD 5-trillion economy passes through Uttar Pradesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday, expressing confidence that the state would contribute to it by becoming a USD 1-trillion economy.
“When I was a 16-year-old boy, I used to hear that the path to the post of prime minister passed through Lucknow and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is MP from Varanasi. Today I am convinced that the path to the USD 5-trillion economy passes through Uttar Pradesh and I am sure the state will contribute to it by becoming a USD 1-trillion economy,” Bharatiya Janata Party president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said while inaugurating the second groundbreaking ceremony for the launch of 250 projects worth Rs 65,000 crore at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan here on Sunday.
The ceremony was attended by several business leaders.
The Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for these projects were signed during the two-day UP Investors’ Summit held in the state capital in February last year.
Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set the target for the country to be among the top three economies of the world in the next five years.
The Union Home Minister laid the foundation stones of 250 projects worth Rs 65,000 crore at the event.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last week had said Uttar Pradesh had the potential to become a USD 1-trillion economy and though it was a big target, it was not impossible to achieve as the state had the requisite resources and manpower.
Saying that there had been an increase in allocation of funds to the state by the 14th Finance Commission, Shah assured investors that “along with the state government, the Centre is also committed to the development of Uttar Pradesh”.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees dreams with open eyes and such people do not sleep till they realise the dreams,” he said.
Lauding Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for bringing several changes for the development of the state, Shah said, “The Yogi government has removed the biggest hurdle in development by improving the law and order situation in the last two years.”
“Development is not possible if the law and order situation is bad. I don’t want to take the names of any government but the administration here had been badly politicised. But now, under the present dispensation, the administration has been made ‘janata ka sewak’ (servant of the people) in the real sense,” he said.
Shah explained the reason for picking Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of the politically crucial state which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. He the decision to select a priest-turned-politician for the chief minister’s post came as a surprise for many because he (Yogi) had no administrative experience.
“Many people called me when Yogi was made Chief Minister. People said Yogi had never even run a municipality (it was true), he was never a minister and you are making him CM of the biggest state? People said his administrative experience is almost zero,” Amit Shah said.
“No one thought Yogiji will become the Chief Minister. He had no experience in administration as he had not managed even a municipality but our aim was dedication and loyalty, and ‘parishram ki kshamata’ (potential to work hard). The BJP top leadership was of the view that someone who was work-oriented and had work ethics would overcome all such factors and the party handed over the reins to Yogi Adityanath. That decision was right and he has made it right,” the Union Home Minister said.
Heaping praise on the UP Chief Minister, Shah said that Yogi had translated dreams into reality in a short period and congratulated him for improving the atmosphere in the state, including the law and order situation.
On the occasion, Shah highlighted the achievements of the Narendra Modi government during the past five years.
“During Atalji (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) government, India was placed at the 11th position in economy which continued till 2014. But after BJP came to power, in five years India reached the sixth position in 2019 and in next five years India will be among the three largest economy of the world,” he said.
“The per capita income of the country, which was Rs 79,000 in 2014, has reached Rs 1,26,000 in 2019 while the agricultural growth, which was in minus in 2014, is now 6.7 per cent. The number of people paying income tax has almost doubled in five years, from 3.80 crore to 6.70 crore while forex reserve has also increased in five years from 304 billion dollars to 429 billion dollars,” Shah said, adding that as per the World Bank report, India has jumped to 77 position from 142 in ease of doing business.
Shah said he was connected to UP since 2013 and had seen its backwardness. “But now things have started to change with development of health facilities; road connectivity has also improved,” he added.
The Union Home Minister thanked the industrialists for investing in UP.
