PM’s address at launches of multiple development initiatives in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh
Speaker: Narendra Modi
Date: 20 Oct, 2021

Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Greetings to all of you from Kushinagar, the place of Parinirvana of Lord Buddha! Today I inaugurated an airport and laid the foundation station of a medical college which you were waiting for so long. Now, flights will take place from here and there will be treatment for serious illnesses as well. With this, a big dream of all of you has been realized. Many congratulations to all of you. Uttar Pradesh Governor Smt.Anandiben Patel ji, the popular KarmayogiUP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathji, the energetic UP BJPPresident ShriSwatantra Dev ji, UP government ministers ShriSuryapratapSahiji, Shri Suresh Kumar Khanna ji, Shri Swami Prasad Mauryaji , Dr. Neelkanth Tiwari ji, my fellow ParliamentariansShri Vijay Kumar Dubey ji and Dr. Ramapati Ram Tripathiji, other public representatives, and my dear sisters and brothers who came here in large numbers!! Diwali and Chhath Puja are not far away. It is a time of celebration and gaiety. Today is also the birth anniversary of Maharshi Valmiki. It gives me great pleasure to hand over new projects worth hundreds of crores of rupees related to connectivity, health and employment to Kushinagar on this auspicious occasion. Brothers and sisters, Maharshi Valmiki not only introduced Lord Shri Rama and Mother Janaki to us through Ramayana, but also made us aware of the collective power of the society and how every goal is achieved through collective efforts. Kushinagar is a very rich and holy place of this philosophy. Brothers and sisters, The new international airport is going to change the picture of the entire region from the poor to the middle class, from the villages to the cities. With the widening of the road connecting Maharajganj and Kushinagar, the international airport will not only get better connectivity, but the problems faced by sugarcane farmers in reaching Ramkola and Siswa sugar mills will also be removed. You now have better treatment facilities with the new Government Medical College in Kushinagar. The border areas of Bihar will also benefit from it. Many young people from here will be able to fulfill their dream of becoming a doctor. Seventy-five years after independence, a decision has been taken under the new National Education Policy that a child can study in his mother tongue also so that a poor mother’s son can also become a doctor or an engineer. Now there will be no obstacle in his development journey due to the language barrier. Due to many such efforts, thousands of innocent people have been saved from deadly diseases like encephalitis in Purvanchal. Friends, Steps like saving hundreds of villages around the Gandak River from floods, construction of embankments at many places, establishment of Kushinagar Government College and a college for disabled children will take the region from scarcity to aspirations. This is an important step as part of the ongoing campaign to connect villages, poor, Dalits, deprived, backward, tribal, every such section with basic facilities for the last six-seven years. Friends, When basic facilities are available, there is the courage to dream big and the spirit to fulfill those dreams. The confidence of the poor who is homeless and lives in a slum grows manifold when he gets a pucca house, toilet in the house, electricity connection, gas connection and tap water. Since these facilities are reaching the poorest of the poor rapidly, the poor are also realizing for the first time that the government that is in place today understands their pain and problems. Today the central and state governments are involved in the development of UP with complete sincerity. The double engine government is improving the situation with double the strength. Otherwise, the government, which was here before Yogi jitook over in 2017, was not concerned with your problems.It did not want the benefits of the central government schemes to reach the homes of the poor of Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, every project, every infrastructure-related project kept on delaying in UP during the previous regime. Ram Manohar Lohia used to say that “Connect karma with compassion, connect it with full compassion.” But those who were running the government earlier did not care about the pain of the poor; the earlier government linked its karma with scams and crimes. The people of UP are well aware that the identity of these people has become that of a dynasty and not a socialist. These people did good only for their family and forgot the interest of society and Uttar Pradesh. Friends, Being such a huge state of the country with such a large population, Uttar Pradesh at one time was considered a challenge for every major campaign of the country. But today Uttar Pradesh is playing a leading role in the success of every major mission of the country. The country has realized this in the past few years whether it is the Swachh Bharat Abhiyanor the campaign against Corona. If there is any state which administers the highest number of vaccines per day in the country, it is Uttar Pradesh. UP is also trying to do better in the country’s fight against TB. The role of Uttar Pradesh is also very important when we are taking our fight against malnutrition to the next stage. Friends, Mothers and sisters have benefited the mostafter the formation of the government of Karma Yogis in UP. Most of the new houses that were built were registered in the name of sisters, toilets were built which not only provided convenience but protected their dignity as well, they got freedom from smoke after they got Ujjwala gas connection and now a campaign is underway to supply water through pipes to the houses so that the sisters don’t have to wander for water. Within just two years, 27 lakh families of Uttar Pradesh have got the pure drinking water connection. Friends, The central government has started another scheme which is going to open new doors of prosperity in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh in future. The name of this scheme is – PM SwamitvaYojana. Under this, ownership documents of the houses in the villages are being given.The village lands and property are being mapped with the help of drones. By getting the legal papers of property, not only will the fear of illegal possession end, it will also be very easy to get loans from the banks. The youth of UP, who want to start their work on the basis of their land or home,will get a lot of help from the Swamitva scheme. Brothers and sisters, In the last four-and-a-half years, the highest priority has been given to the rule of law in UP. The policy of the previous government before 2017 was –freedom to the mafia to loot openly. Today, under the leadership of Yogi ji, the mafia has been begging for forgiveness. The steps taken by Yogi ji have instilled fear in the mafia and they are now feeling the pinch. Yogi ji and his team are demolishing the land mafia, who used to keep an evil eye on the land of the poor, Dalit, downtrodden, backward and used to take illegal possession. Friends, When there is rule of law, there is fear among criminals and the benefits of developmental schemes also reach the poor-Dalit-Oppressed-Deprived rapidly. It is possible to develop new roads, railways, medical colleges and infrastructure related to electricity at a rapid pace. This is what is being demonstrated today by the team of Yogi jiwhich is implementing these projects in Uttar Pradesh. Now industrial development in UP is not limited to just one or two cities, but is also reaching the districts of Purvanchal. Friends, One thing is always said about Uttar Pradesh that it is a state which has given the maximum number of prime ministers to the country. This is the specialty of UP, but the identity of UP cannot be seen only in this realm. UP cannot be confined to 6-7 decades! This is a land whose history is timeless, whose contribution is timeless. MaryadaPurushottam Lord Rama incarnated on this land and so did Lord Krishna. Of the 24 Tirthankaras of Jainism, 18 had incarnated in Uttar Pradesh itself. If you look at the medieval period, Tulsidas and Kabirdas were also born in this soil. The soil of this state is also privileged in giving birth to a social reformer like SantRavidas. Wherever you go, its past, present and future will look incompletewithout the contribution of Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is a region where there are pilgrimagecentreseverywhere and there is energy in every particle.Vedas and Puranaswere penned in Naimisharanya. Pilgrimage centreAyodhya is in the Awadh region.The holy Kashi of Shiva devotees is in Purvanchal, the Tapobhoomi of Baba Gorakhnath is in Gorakhpur, and Ballia is the place of Maharishi Bhrigu. There is a pilgrimage centre of infinite glory like Chitrakoot in Bundelkhand. Moreover, TirthrajPrayag is also in our UP. It does not end here. If you come to Kashi then your journey would not be complete without visiting Sarnath where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon. We are already present in Kushinagar. Buddhist devotees from all over the world come here. Today people have reached here by the first international flight. When people from different countries come to Kushinagar, they will also visit pilgrimagecentres like Shravasti, Kaushambi and Sankisa. Shravasti is also the birthplace of Jain TirthankarSambhavnathji. Similarly, Ayodhya is also the birthplace of Lord Rishabhdev and Kashi is the birthplace of TirthankarasParshvanath and Suparshvanath. In short, each place here is so blessed that many incarnations have taken place here. Moreover, our glorious great Sikh Guru tradition also has a deeper connection with Uttar Pradesh. The ‘Guru KaTaal’ Gurudwara in Agra is still a witness to the glory and valourof Guru Tegh Bahadur ji where he challenged Aurangzeb. The Gurudwara Guru Nanak Dev in Agra and the ChhathaviPadshahiGurudwarain Pilibhit have also preserved the legacy of Guru Nanak Dev’s teachings. The glory of UP, which has given so much to the country and the world, is huge, and the potential of the people of UP is also huge. We are working in the direction that UP should get recognition and opportunities to carry forward this legacy according to its potential. Friends, I know that some people get very upset when I praise the potential of Uttar Pradesh, the new identity that Uttar Pradesh is creating in the country and the world. But if some people get disturbed by telling the truth, then GoswamiTulsidasji has said this for them: जहां सुमति तहं संपति नाना। जहां कुमति तहं बिपति निदाना ।। Where there is good intellect, there is always a state of happiness, and where there are malevolent, there is always a shadow of insecurity. We are moving forward with a pledge to serve the poor. During the Corona period, the country has run the world’s largest free ration program. About 15 crore beneficiaries of Uttar Pradesh are also getting its benefit. Today the world’s largest and fastest immunization campaign — Vaccine for All, Free Vaccine — is rapidly nearing the mark of 100 crore vaccination. More than 12 crore vaccines have been administered in Uttar Pradesh so far. Brothers and sisters, The government of double engine is setting new records of procurement from farmers here. So far, about 80,000 crore rupees have reached the bank accounts of the farmers of UP for the purchase of their produce. Moreover, more than 37,000 crore rupees have been deposited in the bank account of UP farmers from PM Kisan SammanNidhi. And this is happening for the betterment of small farmers and to strengthen them. India’s ethanol policy will also benefit the farmers of UP. Bio-fuel, produced from sugarcane and other food grains, is becoming an important alternative to crude oil imported from abroad. Yogi ji and his government have done commendable work for the sugarcane farmers in the last few years. Today, the state which gives the highest price to its sugarcane farmers for their produce is Uttar Pradesh. During the tenure of the earlier government before Yogi ji came to power, less than one lakh crore rupees was paid to sugarcane farmers in five years. At the same time, Yogi ji’s government, which has not even completed five years, has paid about 1.5 lakh crore rupees to the sugarcane farmers. The factories being set up in Uttar Pradesh for ethanol to make bio-fuel will help sugarcane farmers even more. Brothers and sisters, The time to come is the period to fulfill the aspirations of UP. In this virtuous period of freedom, it is time for all of us to unite. We don’t have to make plans for UP for the next five months, but to take it forward by laying the foundation for the next 25 years. With the blessings of Kushinagar, Purvanchal and Uttar Pradesh and with the efforts of all of you, all this will be made possible. Once again, I congratulate all of you very much for the many new facilities. Wishing you a very Happy Diwali and Chhath Puja in advance! Yes, I will make a request to you again. Don’t forget to be vocal for the local. If we make the Diwali purchases from the sweat of our neighbouring brothers and sisters, their life will be filled with many colours during Diwali and there will be dawn of a new light and a new energy. Therefore, we have to buy maximum local products during festivals. With this request, many thanks to all of you! Thanks! Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Bharat Mata Ki Jai!