PM says previous regimes kept UP in deprivation, darkness

Jewar: Breaking ground on the Noida International Airport site, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took the opportunity to take a swipe at previous governments — ahead of the 2022 UP polls — saying that they had kept Uttar Pradesh in deprivation and darkness for seven decades but that the state is now getting what it always deserved and is making its mark internationally under a "double-engine" BJP rule.

After laying the foundation stone for the Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, for which tens of thousands had arrived, Modi highlighted the development activities in the poll-bound state and said the new airport will help the state become an export-centre whereby even MSMEs will have easier access to overseas markets.

Significantly, the Prime Minister highlighted that the new airport will have a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility spread over 40 acres and the facility will provide employment to hundreds of people even as Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced that the entire airport project will create around 1 lakh jobs over the years.

The airport will become the logistics gateway for North India, Modi said and sought to stress that the government is focused on development activities, saying "infrastructure is not part of 'rajniti' (politics) for us but part of rashtra niti (national policy)".

In an apparent dig at the Opposition, the PM said some political parties in the country have always kept their self-interest paramount. "The thinking of these people is self-interest, their own development and that of their family... whereas, we follow the spirit of Nation First... Sabka Saath - Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas - Sabka Prayas is our mantra," Modi said.