Honour, respect for Indians abroad were 'never the same' before 2014: Goyal

Piyush Goyal was addressing BJP workers and leaders at a gathering in Lucknow, after announcing the name of Union Minister Pankaj Chaudhary as the state party president

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday claimed that the honour and respect Indians get abroad now were never the same before 2014.

He was addressing BJP workers and leaders at a gathering in Lucknow, after announcing the name of Union Minister Pankaj Chaudhary as the state party president.

He said that before 2014 -- when the BJP came to power at the Centre -- the news featured corruption and major scams every day, and the law and order scenario was "very bad" in Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the attendees, he said that by making Narendra Modi the prime minister and ensuring the formation of the NDA government with a huge majority, "you have been the witness to ('saakshi') and the facilitator of ('sutradhaar') the development spree it started".

"In the journey from 2014 to 2025, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the mindset and the way of working changed. At the international level, India's identity also changed. Today, wherever we go carrying the Indian passport, the honour and respect one gets abroad as an Indian, it was never the same before 2014," Goyal said.

He also said the way Modi government has made good governance its focal point, linked a developing country with development, made the spirit of 'antyodaya' reach houses in the true sense, and changed the lives of people after 2014, it is a "precedent" for the country and the world.

The Union minister also listed the achievements of the government and said it has pulled a record number of 25 crore people from poverty in 11 years.

He also said that in such a short time, the country's economy became the fastest-growing economy in the world, and is on the way to becoming the third-largest economy globally.

Goyal, while praising Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said Yogi Adityanath has freed the state from land mafia, sand mafia and liquor mafia in the past eight years.

He has ensured good law and order and made Uttar Pradesh the second largest economy in India, which is moving towards USD 1 trillion, Goyal said.

"I feel that both leaders have worked to take India and Uttar Pradesh forward with a new thought and in a new direction, which is in front of us, and it inspires all of us," he said.

The Union minister also said that there is probably no other state that has developed so much in eight years, and there are unlimited possibilities (in the state).

He claimed that when the BJP came to power in 2017, there was an atmosphere of exodus in the state, no job avenues for people, and the mafia prevailed.

"But today, an environment has been created by which industrialists feel secure here," he said.