PM Modi inaugurates 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway in UP

Jalaun (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday cautioned people against what he called the "revadi culture" of offering freebies for garnering votes and said it is "very dangerous" for the development of the country.

The prime minister used 'revadi,' a popular north Indian sweet often distributed during festivals, as a metaphor for freebies being promised by various parties to grab power and said the people, especially the youth, should guard against it.

Addressing a gathering here after inaugurating the 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crore, Modi said this expressway will not only give speed to vehicles but will also accelerate the industrial progress of the entire Bundelkhand.

He said the expressway will cut travel time between Chitrakoot and Delhi by three-four hours but its benefit will be much more than that. He also hit out at previous Uttar Pradesh governments for the lack of connectivity.

The "double-engine" government is now ensuring a major transformation of the state with fast-improving connectivity and much better law and order, the prime minister said. Modi asserted that no such work should be done that is not related to the present aspirations and better future of the country. The thinking behind every decision and policy should be that it would accelerate the country's development. All those things that harm and negatively impact the country's development should be kept away, he said.

Modi said the country has got a very good opportunity for development and it should not let go of it.

"We have to ensure maximum development in this era and take the country to new heights and build a new India," he said.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the government of rushing to open the half-complete expressway and championing a chaltaau culture.

"The hurriedness in the inauguration of the half-complete Bundelkhand Expressway shows that its design is 'chaltaau' (make-do), Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday.

So, even with Defence Corridor near to it, the BJP government could not construct an airstrip like the one constructed on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway during the Samajwadi Party government," he said.