PM’s address at the dedication of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Memorial Centre to the Nation in Varanasi
Speaker: Narendra Modi
Date: 16 Feb, 2020

Har Har Mahadev! My best wishes to all of you on Mahashivratri, Rangabhari Ekadashi and Holi. My brothers and sisters, gathered here in large numbers !! Today one can witness a wonderful coincidence on the banks of Mother Ganga. The taposthali of Avadhoot Baba Lord Rama is on this bank of the river and now the other bank of the river has also been developed in the memory of Deendayal Upadhyay Ji. Friends, When mother Ganga enters Kashi, she freely spreads her two arms. One arm denotes the emergence of a great culture of religion, philosophy and spirituality while the other arm denotes service, sacrifice, dedication and hardwork. Siddhayogi Avadhoot Baba Lord Rama changed the traditional form of austerity and meditation on this side of the river bank to create a new taposthali of service. Today, the association of Deendayalji’s Memorial site with this region is increasing the significance of the region’s name ‘Padaav’. It will develop into a platform where service, sacrifice, and public interest will all come together. I believe that this region will become a land of determination to know, understand and achieve the true purpose of life. Friends, This day is like a dream come true for the crores of Indians whom Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay has always inspired. One of the largest rail junctions in the country has already been dedicated to his memory. Now with this Memorial centre and garden built here, the grand statue installed here will continue to inspire generations to follow the ethics and thoughts of Deen Dayal Ji. Brothers and sisters, This land is an inspiration for those whose heart goes out to people who are oppressed, exploited, and to the deprived and downtrodden people of the society. This land inspires crores of people, who are immersed in the colours of nationalism, whose lives are above party politics and those who are concerned more about the entire community or society instead of the self. It will keep inspiring people to live for the country, and to fight for the country. I bow down to this land today and pay my respects to that saintly soul. And I believe that Deendayal ji’s soul will continue to bless us and will keep inspiring us constantly so that we are able to fulfil our responsibility of dedicating our lives towards serving the downtrodden, the oppressed, the exploited and the deprived sections of the society. Friends, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Ji had shown us the path of Antyodaya. That is, the development of those who are at the bottom stratum of the society. Seeking inspiration from this idea, 21st century India is working for Antyodaya. Work is on to bring the people from the last rung of development to the first rung. Be it Purvanchal, Eastern India, North East or in over 100 Aspirational districts of the country, unprecedented development work is going on in every region. Today on this holy occassion, Projects worth over Rs. 1200 crore have been inaugurated and the foundation stones laid for the entire Purvanchal includingVaranasi. It includes big hospitals, schools and educational institutions, roads, flyovers, water schemes, parks and city beautification projects. I congratulate all of you, the people of Varanasi and Purvanchal for these projects pertaining to health, education, facilities, devotion and employment. All these projects are an unwavering part of the resolve for rejuvenation underway in the entire Purvanchal including Kashi for the last 5 years. During these years, development works worth about Rs. 25 thousand crores in Varanasi district have either been completed or are going on at a fast pace. These are the blessings of Mahadev, Baba Bhole that after the times Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, it is now that Kashi city is witnessing massive development works. It is a privilege for us that Baba has given us the responsibility for these works. The huge benefit of these works is being provided to the entire Purvanchal including Banaras. The government has given top priority to roads, highways, waterways, railways, especially infrastructure as a whole. Yogi ji’s team is steadily working on Purvanchal Expressway. Very soon this entire region will reap the benefits of the same. Today, the bridge on the Chaukaghat-Lahartara road has also been inaugurated. You are well aware of the situation before. Be it the Cantt railway station, BHU, bus station or the airport, it was difficult to commute to all these places. There used to be so much of traffic jam. Now you will get rid of this traffic jam. With the construction of this 4-lane bridge, now the road of Lahartara-Allahabad and Chaukaghat-Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar has also been connected. Along with this, 16 roads connecting several villages have also been launched today. It will also benefit people travelling to and fro from Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Ballia and Bihar. Those who want to visit other tourist places including Sarnath, will also benefit through these routes. Friends, In addition to providing facilities, these connectivity related works underway in this entire region including Kashi, are also creating immense employment opprtunities. Especially tourism-based employment, which has a great potential in Kashi and nearby areas, is getting a boost. Tourism is a sector, in which people at every level, belonging to every category, can earn more with minimum investment. That is why tourism plays an important part, when it comes to India becoming a $ 5 trillion economy. India also has a great potential in heritage tourism, which is being developed as per the 21st century. In particular, the sites associated with our faith, including Kashi, are being developed using new technologies according to the new requirements. Be it the beutification of Sarnath or the Ganga ji’s ghats- every devotee, every tourist coming to Kashi today leaves with a pleasant experience. A few days ago the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka also visited here. He was mesmerized by the wonderful atmosphere and the divine feeling. You might have also noticed that he praised the people of Kashi a lot, on social media. Friends, You are all familiar with the ongoing work on Kashi Vishwanath Dham projects. Today the Annakshetra Bhawan, built in the temple premises, has been inaugurated. With the construction of this building, the inconvenience caused due to distribution of offerings and food to the devotees will be removed forever. All such works in Kashi Vishwanath Dham are being completed at a fast pace. Very soon, we will have the divine courtyard of Baba in an attractive and grand form. Similarly, a trust has been formed for the construction of a grand temple in Sri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. This trust will now start working on the construction of Shri Ram Dham. Brothers and sisters, Along with developing large centers of faith and spirituality across the country, efforts are underway to make these convenient for devotees and tourists. Work is being done to ensure devotees get seamless connectivity to these places. In line with this, Kashi-Mahakal Express connecting Baba Vishwanath’s city with Omkareshwar and Mahakaleshwar has also been flagged today. Now, after seeiking Baba’s blessings in Kashi, one can seek blessings of Mahakal in Ujjain, and thereafter continuing in the same train, he will be able to pay obeisance at Omkareshwar in Indore. Moreover, the rail service will also connect areas of religious and historical importance such as Prayagraj, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Bina, Sant Hirdaram. This is like a special gift to Baba’s devotees on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. Brothers and sisters, Kashi has been the main center of Knowledge along with the faith and spirituality. In the last 5 years, impetus was given to centers of knowledge and science such as BHU . Even today, several facilities related to Vedic knowledge and modern medicine have been launched. Today, Varanasi is emerging as a huge medical hub of Purvanchal. Here, many hospitals have been readied for modern treatment of serious diseases like cancer. Earlier, one had to go to big cities like Delhi and Mumbai for treatment of diseases, but now people are being treated here. Uttar Pradesh as well as a large part of eastern India is extensively benefiting from it. The foundation stone of the super-specialty hospital that was inaugurated today at BHU, was laid at the end of 2016 by me. In just 21 months, this 430-bed hospital is ready to serve the people of Kashi and Purvanchal. The 100-bed maternity wing of the District Women’s Hospital in Kabirchaura will help the women of the city a lot. I would like to congratulate Yogi ji and his team for the continued focus on setting up medical colleges and health and wellness centers under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana all over Uttar Pradesh. Besides, the efforts that have been made here in the last 2-3 years on pure drinking water and sanitation have also helped in dealing with diseases like encephalitis. Friends, Whatever we have achieved in the last 5 and a half years, we need to pursue it at a faster pace now. We have to continue the cleanliness campaign. At the same time, we have to work with full capacity to deliver water to every household in the coming 5 years under the Jal Jeevan Mission. I assure you that neither the budget will come in the way of this work nor the government’s intentions will become weak. Together we will fulfill Mahadev’s desire of rejuvenating Benaras. Brothers and sisters, Tier 2 and tier 3 cities like Benaras will help in adding new chapters to the nation’s story of the development in a changing India. Just as Deen Dayalji used to talk of Antyodaya, similarly, the rise of small cities in the country will take the development of the country to newer heights. The benefits of the Central Government schemes have been received mostly by the people living in these small cities. In the recent budget, the government has announced that more than 100 lakh crore rupees will be spent on infrastructure. A large part of these funds will be transferred into the accounts of small cities of the country. Friends, Deen Dayal Ji used to say that self-reliance and self-help should be at the center of all schemes. Efforts are constantly being made to incorporate these ideas into the government’s schemes and the work culture of the government. You see, self-sufficiency is at the heart of Make in India. Today, rail coaches, mobile phones and modern defence equipment are being manufactured in India. Many new factories have been set up across UP including Purvanchal in the last 5 years. Similarly, the idea of self reliance is inherent in ‘Start Up India’ too. In the last 5 years, about 26 thousand new start-ups have been registered, due to which the youth of India have given employment to lakhs of youth in India. Self reliance is inherent in the Mudra scheme too. The scheme has created around 5.5 crore new entrepreneurs across the country. About Rs 3000 crore Mudra loans have been given to 6.5 lakh people of Varanasi. Self reliance is at the core of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi too. Under this scheme, about 12 thousand crore rupees have been transferred to the bank accounts of about 2 crore farmers of UP. Brothers and sisters, Our government is continuously working to reach the person at the bottom-most stratum of the society and to bring the benefits of development to them. You tell me, who are those, more than 50 crore countrymen who have received free treatment up to 5 lakh rupees under Ayushman Bharat Yojana today? They have been at the last rung of development for the past 70 years. Today about 90 lakh poor patients in the country have received treatment, out of which 3 lakh are from UP and 16000 are from Varanasi. Those 11 crore people in the country were also on the last rung, in whose houses toilets have been constucted for the first time. More than 8 crore families of the country were also on the last rung, who received gas connection for the first time under the Ujjwala scheme. Among them, about 1.5 crore from UP and about 1.75 lakh families from Varanasi have benefited. There are also about 50 lakh families of my dalit brothers and sisters, who have received the gas connection under Ujjwala. Nearly 2 crore people in the country who received pucca houses were also the people on the bottom-most rung. Today, 24 crore countrymen who are getting upto 4 lakh rupees accident and life insurance were also on the bottom-most rung. The crores of farmers, labourers, small traders who have been given the facility of monthly pension of 3 thousand rupees after the age of 60, were also on the last rung of development. Friends, This last rung was maintained for a very long period since independence, because political interests were served only in having this section of the society and not by solving its problems. But now the situation is changing, the country is changing. Now the primacy is being given to those on the bottom-most stratum. With the blessings of Mahadev, today the country is also taking decisions which were always left in limbo. Whether it is the decision to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir or the Citizenship Amendment Act, the country was waiting for these decisions for years. These decisions were necessary in the interest of the country and despite all the pressure from the world, we will stand and uphold these decisions. Today in the city of Baba Bholenath, in the memory of Deen Dayal, in the memory of Lord Rama, I assure the people of Kashi and the people of the country that these works for the welfare of the country will continue. Once again thank you so much for coming here in such a large number and blessing me !!! Bharat Mata ki Jai! Bharat Mata ki Jai! Bharat Mata ki Jai!