Previous govts didn't provide people facilities available elsewhere: PM

PM Modi accused previous governments of not providing people with facilities that were available to people elsewhere in the world even in the 20th century and in Gujarat a few years back

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused previous governments of not providing people with facilities that were available to people elsewhere in the world even in the 20th century and in Gujarat a few years back.

He was addressing a public meeting at the Indira Gandhi stadium in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh's Una district.

"We will provide you facilities of the 20th as well as the 21st centuries," Modi added.

He said the people in Himachal Pradesh would now beak the trend of voting different parties to power in every elections.

"I am pleased to announce gifts worth several thousand crores for Himachal before Dhanteras and Diwali," the prime minister said.

Earlier, the prime minister flagged off the inaugural run of the new Vande Bharat Express. It is the fourth Vande Bharat train introduced in the country and is an advanced version compared to the earlier ones, being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speed in shorter duration. It accelerates to 100 Km per hour in just 52 seconds.

Modi also laid the foundation stone of the Bulk Drug Park at Haroli which will be built at a cost of more than Rs 1,900 crore.

The park will help reduce dependence on API imports. It is expected to attract investments of around Rs 10,000 crores and provide employment to more than 20,000 people.

He dedicated to the nation the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Una, the foundation stone for which was laid by him in 2017.

The prime minister was accorded a warm welcome by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on his arrival at the Pekhubela helipad in Una.

He is later scheduled to address another public meeting at the Chogan maidan in Chamba district after inaugurating and laying foundation stones of various projects.

This is Prime Minister Modi's ninth visit to Himachal Pradesh in the last five years.