Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (November 14, 2024), held three rallies in Maharashtra, starting from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar in the afternoon, followed by a public rally in Panvel city of Raigad district and in Mumbai later in the evening.
Addressing a mega rally at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Mr. Modi asked the people whether they will vote for those who respect and follow Sambhaji or those propagating Aurangzeb’s ideas.
“All of Maharashtra is aware that it was Balasaheb Thackeray who raised the name of changing Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar for the first time. But when the new government was formed [Uddhav Thackeray’s undivided Shiv Sena], they did not have the guts to change the name because they were under the pressure of Congress. Immediately after the Mahayuti government came to power, we made sure to give the city its identity,” Mr. Modi said.
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“The Aghadi is so uncomfortable with the change of name that they even moved the courts,” PM Modi continued. “They [Maha Vikas Aghadi] are against the values and principles of Maharashtrian culture,” he said.
The BJP-led-Mahayuti has only one vision – to lead the State towards the development – and to modify Maharashtra with modern infrastructures and amenities, he added.
“Today the Samruddhi Mahamarg route passes through Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and directly connects Marathwada, Vidarbha, and Mumbai. The highway connectivity projects for Jalgaon, Dhule, and Solapur are progressing at full speed. We are modernising the railways in this region. It is only after Mahayuti came to power, Maharashtra has seen the greatest number of investments. Maharashtra is the only State to receive foreign direct investments in India,” Mr. Modi said.
“Over ₹70,000 crore investment memorandums have been signed, ₹45,000 crore projects are already in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and in the coming times many big companies are to be established and function from here. We are constructing Maharashtra’s biggest industrial park here in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar that will draw more companies to invest here, which will further create employment opportunities for the youth,” he added.
He also said that for the devotees of Lord Vitthal, his government has developed the Palkhi Marg Project. “We gave Marathi language the classical language tag. All the Aghadis have done is to block the development of Maharashtra,” he added.
“For the longest time, Marathwada has been suffering with a water crisis. When Devendra Fadnavis was the CM he brought Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyaan to solve this problem but in between the Aghadis came to power and disrupted this project. After Mahayuti came to power, they introduced this project again. Because of the delay in the project, the cost of this project went up and for this separately the Central government is giving ₹700 crores. If Aghadis come to power, they will only make you beg for every drop of water,” Mr. Modi said.
He said that under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, over one crore farmers in the State received over ₹33,000 crore in their bank accounts directly and over four lakh farmers of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar were also benefited.
“The Namo Shetkari Yojana is already providing double the amount to farmers, and we are also giving additional ₹5,000 to the soyabean farmers and we have promised to give them minimum support price of ₹6,000 per quintal to soyabean farmers. In the next five years, the farmers will benefit from new opportunities. We are also trying to bring solar energy into every farm and many irrigation pumps are being converted into solar pumps in Maharashtra. For the dairy and cattle rearing farmers we are providing Kisan Credit Card,” the PM said.
He said the Congress wants to play the politics of divide and rule and they have never liked the idea of reservations. “These days, newspaper clips from old times are going viral on social media that reveals their mindset towards the OBC, ST and SC community. They cannot stand the fact that the PM of this country is OBC society,” he said.
“The Shehzada [prince] of Congress party [Rahul Gandhi] goes to foreign countries and speaks against reservation. That’s why I am raising the slogan, Hum Ek Hain, Toh Safe Hain,” he said.
Talking about Article 370, Mr. Modi alleged that the Congress does not want Jammu and Kashmir to be part of India and so they were against the abrogation of Article 370. “It surprises me that apart from Pakistan if anyone else is dreaming of such a thing [restoration of Article 370] it is only Congress and its alliances. They speak the language and mindset of Pakistanis. To the people of Maharashtra, I promise that in the next five years Maharashtra will touch heights of developments if they vote for Mahayuti,” he said.
Ahead of the State Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with one lakh booth heads in Maharashtra. This special interaction will be done online through the Namo app. Through this activity, the workers will be made clear about their roles and responsibilities in the election process. Announcing the initiative on Thursday morning, PM Modi took to his X handle and said, “Our dedicated workers are working hard to give BJP a huge victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Amidst this tireless work of the party workers, I am very much looking forward to interacting with them in the ’mera booth sabse mazboot’ program on November 16 at 11:30 a.m.”
Published – November 14, 2024 07:23 pm IST