Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Saturday, hailed the economy of the state, stating that it was the second largest in the country.
He said that UP was contributing more to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) under his government, adding that his government had pulled the state out of the BIMARU Rajya category.
“Inertia and lack of vision was the hallmark of the previous governments in Uttar Pradesh and they lacked the instinct to work for the development of the state,” the chief minister said while replying to the general debate in the state assembly on Saturday.
He added, “Development, farmers, youth, women and poor were nowhere in the priority list of the previous government while the Bharatiya Janata Party government has more than doubled the size of the annual budget in seven years.”
“The economy of UP is the second largest in the country. The contribution of UP to the country’s GDP has increased. We have pulled UP out of the status of BIMARU state. This has happened without imposing any taxes on the people. The cost of diesel and petrol is the least in UP,” he said.
Invoking Lord Ram, the chief minister said, “The first budget of our government was dedicated to Ram and the eighth budget was also dedicated to Bhagwan Ram as navya, bhavya, divya mandir has been constructed in Ayodhya.”
“We have worked for everyone without discrimination. When our government presented its first budget in 2017, we had said that it would be dedicated to Lord Ram. It is our luck that as we present our eighth budget, the Ram temple in Ayodhya has been constructed and the Pran Pratishtha ceremony has been completed. Lord Ram is the symbol of ‘lok mangal’,” he said.
The chief minister said that the resources of the state government should be used for the welfare of the people of the state and this was the idea of Ram rajya.
“The state’s money should be made available to its people without any bias. This is the idea of Ram rajya.... Earlier, the method of pick and choose was adopted,” he said.
The chief minister said with strict financial discipline, the state government had succeeded in doubling the GDP of the state. He said the size of the budget had not increased with the increase in outlay, the per capita income of the people had also increased. He said the target of the government was to fill the gap between the national average of per capita income and state’s income.
The chief minister said till 2017, the state’s GDP was between Rs 12-13 lakh crore and it had now more than doubled. He said the share of UP in national GDP had increased to 9.2 per cent and it should be equal to our share in national population –10 per cent.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also hit out at leader of opposition Akhilesh Yadav and accused him of impoverishing the state during his tenure.
“In the five years of your tenure you gave a failure state but we made a secure state. You looted millions and we will give the state one trillion,” he said addressing Akhilesh Yadav in the assembly. His statement was followed by a round of applause from the treasury benches.
The chief minister also criticised Akhilesh Yadav for not accepting the invitation of the speaker to visit Ayodhya for the Ram temple consecration last month. The chief minister said Akhilesh Yadav had problems with the fact that India had become the fifth largest economy in the world.
“He has doubts that the country has become the fifth largest economy; he also has a problem that Uttar Pradesh has become the number one state,” he said.
When Akhilesh Yadav interjected, the chief minister said, “You have already denied the offer of the speaker. You don’t want to go to Ayodhya and you often go to Britain and you know who books your tickets.”
The chief minister also welcomed the bestowing of Bharat Ratna on the late Chaudhary Charan Singh, saying, “The development work done by Chaudhary Charan Singh as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and as prime minister of the country is memorable. His honour is the honour of the farmers of the country.”
“Charan Singh brought in revenue changes and it is because of his work that farmers are central to the policies of the government today,” he added.
The chief minister took a jibe at the fissure between the alliance between Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal, whose president, Jayant Chaudhary, the grandson of Chaudhary Charan Singh, has apparently been warming up to the BJP since the announcement of the country’s highest civilian award.
He said, “I hoped that when the leader of the opposition was speaking he would remember Chaudhary Charan Singh. But the crack could not be fixed.
