Modi rolls out projects in poll-bound Chhattisgarh; blasts Congress in CM’s presence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (July 7) tore into the Congress, dubbing it a foe of the poor, as he inaugurated and laid foundation stones of eight projects worth about Rs 7,600 crore in Chhattisgarh at the start of a two-day four-state visit.

Addressing a rally in Raipur, Modi attacked the Congress, calling it a ‘panja’ (claw) standing in the way of the development in Chhattisgarh, which goes to the polls later this year.

“A big ‘panja’ has stood like a wall in front of the development of Chhattisgarh. This is the ‘panja’ of Congress, which is snatching your rights from you. This ‘panja’ has decided that it will loot and ruin Chhattisgarh,” he said at what was billed as a Vijay Sankalp Maha Rally.

Also read: BJP in pitiable situation in Chhattisgarh, says Bhupesh Baghel

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, which rules Chhattisgarh, Modi said: “Of the 36 promises made by it, one was that liquor will be banned in the state. Five years have passed, but the truth is that the Congress has done a liquor scam worth thousands of crores in Chhattisgarh.”

He said that only BJP understands the people of Chhattisgarh and knows their needs.

Attacking Congress

As for Congress, he thundered: “These people will follow me, threaten to dig my grave, hatch conspiracies against me. But they do not know. ‘Jo dar jaaye wo Modi nahi’ (The one who gets scared is not Modi).”

Also read: Congress attempts to put house in order with Singhdeo’s promotion in Chhattisgarh

Accusing the Congress of corruption, he added: “Congress is now trying to hide the stain of its misgovernance and corruption with false guarantees. You need to be very cautious and careful with such false guarantees. It is the BJP which gives the real guarantee, and whatever it promises it fulfils.”

Ignoring the presence of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who had earlier greeted the prime minister, Modi thundered that there was a wind of change in Chhattisgarh. He vowed to teach a lesson to the Congress regime in the state.

During an event at the Science College ground in Raipur, Modi also virtually flagged off a new train between Antagarh in Kanker district and Raipur, both in Chhattisgarh.

Also read: Kejriwal in Chhattisgarh: Modi govt ‘looted’ India more than Congress, Britishers

He kickstarted the distribution of cards of the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme to beneficiaries in the state.

Projects unveiled

Modi dedicated to the nation a four-lane of the 33-km Raipur-Kodebod section of the National Highway 30 and the 53-km four-lane Bilaspur-Pathrapali stretch of NH-130.

He laid the foundation stone for the construction of three sections (Jhanki-Sargi, 43 km), Sargi Basanwahi (57 km) and Basanwahi-Marangpuri (25 km) as a part of the six-lane Raipur-Visakhapatnam economic corridor.

He also dedicated to the nation the doubling of the 103-km Raipur-Khariar Road Rail Line, built at a cost of Rs 750 crore, a 17-km railway line connecting Keoti and Antagarh and a bottling plant of the Indian Oil Corp with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes per annum in Korba built at a cost of over Rs 130 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said the new projects will open up ample employment opportunities for the people of the state.

“In the last nine years, the Centre sanctioned National Highway projects of 3,500 km length in Chhattisgarh, of which projects of 3,000 km length have been completed,” he said.

“We have been developing infrastructure in areas which have been lagging in the race of development,” he added.

UP visit

Mentioning about his governance since 2014, Modi said: “In the last nine years, the BJP government at the Center has given more than Rs 1 lakh crore to the paddy farmers of Chhattisgarh. This year also more than Rs 22 crore has been given to paddy farmers here. It is the BJP that understands the hard work of the farmers and is working for them. The Congress is only cheating and lying to the farmers.”

The prime minister will proceed from Chhattisgarh to Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur for the centenary celebrations of the Gita Press. He will inaugurate multiple projects in Uttar Pradesh too.

The prime minister will on Saturday visit Telangana and Rajasthan, which too will see state elections later this year.

(With agency inputs)