PM slams Oppn for stalling development work

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lashed out at the Congress and other opposition parties for joining hands with an aim to 'break' the ruling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 'act as obstacles in development' of the country.

"Those who worship a family can never worship democracy. They even deny the courage of the Indian Army for conducting the surgical strike. When international agencies praised India, then also they ran behind them to take a stand," Prime Minister Modi said here while inaugurating the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) expressway, also known as the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE).

Further taking on the Congress, Prime Minister Modi said: "Congress makes a joke out of whatever work is done for the poor Dalits and backward classes. They create obstacles in the development work and even treat that with disrespect. They think creating toilets for women is a joke, 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' is a joke, providing free LPG connections is a joke, making bank accounts is a joke."

"The ones who have been in dynasty politics think everything is a joke. Never knew they would oppose India and put the development at stake just for the sake of opposing Modi. For them, their family is the country, for me, my country is my family," he added.

The Prime Minister further said that the Centre has spent more than Rs three lakh crore on new highways in last four years.

"Four years ago, only 12 kilometres a day were formed. Today about 27 kilometres of highways are being constructed, Through 'Make in India' campaign, manufacturing has received a boost. As a result, now there are 120 mobile phone manufacturing factories in India as compared to only two, four years ago," Prime Minister Modi said.

"Infrastructure does not differentiate on the basis caste, creed, religion and economic status. After agriculture, more employment opportunities arise in Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs). For this, both state and Centre are working together. For example, UP's Yogi Adiyanath govt has undertaken the 'One District, One Product' initiative," he added.

"Congress' UPA government could connect only connect 59 panchayats with optical fibers. In the same time, we have done it for more than 1 lakh villages. How work is done, my nation is experiencing it right now," he said, amid loud cheers from his supporters.

The Prime Minister also accused the opposition of doing the "politics of appeasement".

At the inaugural ceremony, Prime Minister Modi was joined by Uttar Pradesh and Haryana Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath and Manohar Lal Khattar.

The 135-km EPE is India's first smart and green highway and is built at a cost of Rs. 11,000 crore. It is also the country's first highway to be lit by solar power and at every 500 metres, the arrangement of rainwater harvesting has been done on both sides of the expressway.

Before inaugurating the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, PM Modi also kickstarted the first phase of the Delhi-Meerut expressway, which stretches from Nizamuddin Bridge in Delhi to Delhi-UP Border.

The14-lane highway will reduce the travel time between the two cities to only 45 minutes from the present four to five hours.