PM Narendra Modi’s Speech In Srinagar In Uttarakhand’s Garhwal Region Ahead Of Assembly Elections

Ahead of the Assembly election in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally today in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal region. Speaking to the people from the GITI ground in Garhwal’s Srinagar town, Prime Minister Modi focused on the BJP’s promise of development for the hill state.

The Prime Minister also spoke about his government’s efforts at the Centre to remove black money and curb corruption – one of the key issues ahead of elections in Uttarakhand. His Garhwal rally comes weeks after he laid the foundation for the 900-Km Char Dham highway project in the state’s capital Dehradun.

The highway – a 12,000-crore-rupee project – is an all-weather road aimed at improving connectivity between Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. During the launch of the project, the PM had said that the highway will put Uttarakhand’s economy, which is dependent on tourism – particularly religious toruism, back on track. It will also help create jobs and people will not have to move out of the state to get employment, he had said.

Last week, the Prime Minister had targeted the Congress – which is the incumbent government in Uttarakhand – and criticised its Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Parliament over the situation in the hill state. The PM took a dig at Mr Gandhi, saying, “the earthquake finally did happen.”

The PM was referring to Mr Gandhi’s claim, offered in December, that the government was preventing him from speaking in Parliament on the notes ban issue, because if he was allowed to share his remarks, “an earthquake will happen.” Uttarakhand was hit by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake on February 6, tremors of which, were felt in Delhi too. Mr Gandhi had recently said “SCAM”, when applied to his party’s actions, refers to “Seva, Courage, Ability and Modesty.”

The PM said that the attempt to “find Seva (service) in Scam” so distressed “Mother Earth” that an earthquake was the result. Uttarakhand will vote in a single phase on February 15, and counting of votes will happen on March 11.

Here are the highlights of PM Narendra Modi’s speech at Srinagar in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal region:

1) The current Chief Minister is a person who does not love his state. Can such a person do any good for you all?

2) During the discussion to make Uttarakhand a separate state, they were against it.
It is because of them that development has come to a grinding halt in Uttarakhand.
Not just in terms of development, they score low on every issue. They have not been able to ensure the safety of women in the state.

3) This election will be a make or break election for the state. Your fate is in your hands. choose wisely.

4) Among all the other Himalayan states, Uttarakhand lags behind despite tremendous potential. Go to Sikkim and see the difference. More than 20 lakh tourists visited the state.

5) But that is not the case in Uttarakhand. Tourists and pilgrims want to visit ‘dev bhoomi’ (God’s land) Uttarakhand, but cannot do so because of poor infrastructure and facilities in the state.

6) Tourism is key for Uttarakhand, and infrastructure must be given a boost. That will boost the economy of the state and create jobs.