Leaders of a party come to Uttarakhand for excursions: PM Modi

DEHRADUN: A day after accusing the Congress of not allowing development in

Uttarakhand

as it was "created against the party's wishes" at a virtual rally in Haridwar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday again took a swipe at party leaders, saying they “come to the hill state only for excursions. “

At his second virtual rally in the state, in which he addressed constituents in Nainital and

Udham Singh Nagar

districts, the PM said, “Leaders of a party, which had been in power for several years, never did anything for the development of

Char Dham

.”

“The Congress party knows only four things -- serve for the benefit of one family, stall projects, indulge in corruption and do politics of appeasement,” he added, reiterating that the party blocked development in the state and urged voters “not to commit a mistake in the upcoming polls.”

Highlighting the infrastructure projects launched by the BJP government in the hill state, the PM said, “In seven years of our government, we allocated Rs 33,000 crore for road infrastructure, but the earlier government could give just Rs 2,800 crore during its seven-year tenure.”

Linking road connectivity to ease of living, Modi said that Uttarakhand will soon have a modern road network due to the Centre's “Parvat Mala” project.

The PM added, “Our government has spent thousands of crores to bring rail connectivity to the hill areas, while the Congress government before 2014 spent just Rs 4 crore on the project. This shows the level of seriousness it had for the development of Uttarakhand."

Expressing his fondness for the state, the PM said, “I've known Uttarakhand and its people for years and they, too, have known me for long, which is why I am able to do so much for the state."

The PM also attacked the Kejriwal-led Delhi government for its “poor handling of the migrant crisis during the first wave of the pandemic”, saying, "They forcibly sent back the migrants of Uttarakhand."