Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre believed in the “politics of development” and it never budged from its core agenda of
Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre believed in the “politics of development” and it never budged from its core agenda of removing “poverty” through policy intervention and execution of realistic schemes involving all stakeholders.
In an indirect reference to making the “politics of development” as the major poll plank in the forthcoming UP Assembly elections, the Union minister claimed, “When we are going to, or we will be going to the people to seek their support, this will be our major plank and I hope they would accept it.”
Speaking to this newspaper on the sidelines of addressing the party workers here, the minister said the last two years of the NDA government witnessed a number of achievements in various sectors and all these successes were well-recognised by the people across the country.
“In the last two years, India has transformed from almost a slow-moving economy to the fastest growing economy in the world. The vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the performance of the ministers and officers have taken the country new heights. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has gone up to 7.5 per cent from 4.25 per cent a couple of years ago. There has been significant progress in rail and road transport systems,” said Mr Gadkari, adding that everybody had acknowledged the NDA’s achievements.
Asked if he thought the people of Uttar Pradesh would recognise what he said the politics of development of the BJP and bring the party to power again in the state as appealed by the Prime Minister Mr Modi in his recent meeting at Sharanpur, - the Union minister said, “We are trying hard for it.”
The Union minister, while heaping praises on Narendra Modi for his address to the joint sitting of US Congress on Wednesday, said – the PM had once again raised the prestige of India in a global platform.
“Our Prime Minister has once again successfully showcased our achievements in America. They (the lawmakers of the USA) have lauded our growth story in fields of agriculture, science and technology, infrastructure development and social sector. What do we need more When the previous government (the UPA government) was obsessed with Rs 70,000-crore aircraft purchase deal, we have rolled out Rs 80,000 crore deal to provide financial assistance to farmers. Of this 20,000 crore is marked for interest subvention. We are also equally concerned for removing unemployment by imparting skills to our youths through campaigns like Make In India, Skill India and Pradhan MantrI Mudra Yojajna,” he said.
In an indirect dig at the Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Mr Gadkari said, “I wonder how a government headed by a person who does not speak is elected time and again. I also wonder how people repose on the faith of administration where officers do not listen to their political leaders who are directly elected by the people.”
