Narendra Modi Uttarakhand rally: Prime Minister says ‘paryavaran, paryatan, paudha & paani’ to be key focus; 10 key highlights

Appealing with emotion, the Prime Minister told the crowd,"I was born poor and I am fighting for the poor of the country."

Srinagar, February 12: With just days left for the Uttarakhand Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addressed a BJP rally in the state. The rally took place at Srinagar, Uttarakhand and saw a massive crowd in attendance. The Prime Minister touched upon the issues of corruption, poverty and lack of development in the state.

Slamming the Opposition, Modi made it a point to bring up the slow pace of development and high levels of corruption prevalent in the state. He, however, said that developing the state’s environment, tourism and water resources would be the prime focus for the BJP if it comes to power.

Key highlights from Narendra Modi’s speech in Srinagar:

1. After expressing happiness at the support he has received from the state, the Prime Minister said, “Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand supported BJP and both of these states have been into the list of most developing states of the country.  No one imagined that a backward state like Jharkhand will have their own investment summit.” He added that the current Uttarakhand government will be converted into “former government”.
2. Pointing fingers at the Congress, the Prime Minister said that the party which was against the formation of Uttarakhand was now the ruling party of the state. Further mocking the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said, ” A person who does not love this state cannot develop its people. Samajwadi Party workers raped women of Uttarakhand during the formation of Uttarakhand. Congress party is now supporting the same party.”
3. One of the prime focuses for the BJP in Uttarakhand is tourism. Highlighting this vision, Modi said, ” 1.25 crore Indians wants to come to Devbhoomi to take a dip in river Ganga, visit Kedarnath and Badrinath. I am surprised that devbhoomi. Uttarakhand needs tourism advertisement. This is due to the failure of the present government. There is no big adventure tourism spot than Uttarakhand. We will invite the entire world to Uttarakhand for adventure sport.”
4. “If voted to power, Uttarakhand will be developed into a tourist state and it will receive support not only from the state government but also from the centre government. We have decided to build the roads of Chaardhaam with a fund of 12,000 crore,” the Prime minister added. (ALSO READ: Uttarakhand Assembly Elections 2017: Rahul Gandhi kicks off 75-km road show, Nukkad Sabha in Haridwar)
5. The crowd seemed quite in sync with the Prime Minister’s vision. When Modi rhetorically asked, “What is the reason Uttarakhand has fallen behind?” The crowd was quick to reply in unison.“Congress”. Enthused by the response, the Prime Minister said, “Until you remove them, do you think there will be progress? All you need is the support of the people for Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas.”
6. According to the Prime Minister, Uttarakhand can become the centre of the environment. Praising the increasing support the BJp has received from women in the state, he said, “Women of Uttarakhand are the reason for increasing the economy of the state.”
7. The Prime Minister laid out his government’s vision for the state in four words. “Paryawaran(environment), paryatan (tourism) , paudha (plant) and paani (water) are the key features of the state,” He said. He added that the BJP had a vision to use all these four features to develop the state.
8. Launching another attack on the Congress party, Modi said, “The Congress Government had hung the issue of ‘One Rank One Pension’ for 40 years. The government did not had any information about our soldiers. It took more than eight months to collect the information. Congress had allocated only 500 crore for One Rank One Pension. They did not have any idea about our army.”
9. Continuing with his praise for the Indian Army and the successful surgical strikes in Pakistani-controlled territory, the Prime Minister said, “Opposition have asked for evidence during surgical strike even before Pakistan did. This is an offense of the Indian Army.”
10. Corruption and black money have destroyed Uttarakhand stated Narendra Modi. He explained, ‘They converted ‘Devbhoomi’ to ‘Lootbhoomi’. People who have misused their post and looted the people, after demonetisation, they have nothing left with them.” Appealing with emotion, the Prime Minister told the crowd,”I was born poor and I am fighting for the poor of the country.”

The Uttarakhand Assembly elections are set to take place in a  single-phase on February 15. There are 70 assembly constituencies in the state and the Bharatiya Janata Party will be contesting from all the seats. The counting of votes will take place on March 11, 2017.