Calling it a big day for Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, said in Aligarh that the city which was hitherto known for manufacturing world class locks and securing homes would now play an important role in securing the boundaries of India by manufacturing defence equipment.

On Tuesday, after laying the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University and inspecting the Defence Industrial Corridor node in Aligarh, Modi said that India would not only become self-reliant in defence matters but would also become a major exporter in the sector.

Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were also present at the event.

Talking about the Defence Industrial Corridor, the prime minister said that India was moving ahead, aiming to carve its identity as a global defence exporter and Uttar Pradesh would emerge as the country's largest and advanced defence manufacturing centre with the manufacturing of Next-Gen state-of-the-art ‘BrahMos missiles in the Lucknow node of the Defence Industrial Corridor.

“Development of Aligarh will give it a new identity and also to nearby regions. Aligarh will work to protect the borders of the entire country,” he said.

The prime minister praised the level of development in the state and the efforts being taken by the Yogi Adityanath government and stressed that laying the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University was a big day for Aligarh and western Uttar Pradesh.

“The occasion of Radha Ashtami today makes it more auspicious. Today, when India is moving towards development, the university established by the state government is a perfect tribute to freedom fighter, educationist and social reformer Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh,” he said.

The university being set up over 92 acre in Lodha and Musepur Kareem Jarouli villages of Aligarh's Kol tehsil will provide affiliation to 395 colleges of the Aligarh division.

"Many of the national icons, whose contributions towards the nation have been immense, were ignored and forgotten by previous governments since Independence. But today, be it Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh ji or Suhel Dev ji, or several others, they are being given the importance they truly deserve," Modi said.

Lauding Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the prime minister said that the Bharatiya Janata Party government was working towards development in the state.

"Today, Uttar Pradesh is becoming an attractive place for every small and big investor in the country and the world. This happens when the right environment is created for development. Under ODOP (One district, One Product) scheme, the government has done the work of giving a new identity to the locks and the hardware of Aligarh, which has in turn given a major platform nationally and internationally to the MSMEs and the youth. The Aligarh node of the Defence Industrial Corridor will provide a massive boost to the existing and new MSMEs and will create new opportunities for small entrepreneurs,” he said.

Referring to the BJP regimes at the Centre and in UP, the prime minister said that UP had become a perfect example of a state reaping double benefits of the double-engine government.

Hitting out at the previous governments of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in the state, Modi said that the people of Uttar Pradesh cannot forget what kind of scams used to happen here and how governance was handed over to the corrupt.

He added that before 2017, for execution or implementation of any welfare scheme in UP, the Centre had to send letters to the state governments frequently and even then the work used to be delayed or was not carried out in the way it should have been. He added that UP, which was earlier seen as a hindrance to development, was now leading the country’s big campaigns.

Stating that the Yogi government was working towards uplift of the poor and deprived, the prime minister said, “Under Yogi Ji's leadership, Uttar Pradesh has administered more than eight crore vaccine doses so far free of cost. The state has a record of administering the highest doses of vaccines in a day. The state government has worked to protect each and every life by fulfilling the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas Aur Sabka Vishwas.”