Lucknow, March 29 Targeting Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav without naming him, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said what right did he have to talk about development in Noida when he avoided the place due to his "superstitions".
In some sections of UP's political circles, there is a superstition that any chief minister who visits Noida loses power.
Speaking at a programme in Lucknow, where appointment letters were distributed to 665 nursing officers, Adityanath said, "These people who believe in superstitions and dared to raise a finger against India's faith? While serving as chief minister, he never visited that place.
"Yet today, driven by divisive politics, he arrived at Noida and Greater Noida. Back then, he acted as an impediment to the region's development and erected obstacles and barriers. With what right do they speak of development today?" Adityanath said.
The UP CM's remarks came a day after the inauguration of the Noida International Airport on Saturday. During the inauguration ceremony, Modi too slammed the previous SP government for "turning Noida into an ATM for loot" during its tenure and accused opposition leaders of avoiding Noida due to "superstitions".
Yadav hit back, alleging that the BJP has inaugurated seven airports in the state, but six of them are not operational. In a rally in Dadri in Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Sunday, the SP chief also dismissed remarks on his alleged superstition that he did not visit Noida when he was the CM.
Alleging that the SP botched up several projects during its tenure, Adityanath said the project to set up the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow was pegged at Rs 200 crore, but even after spending a "staggering" Rs 800 crore, the project remains incomplete.
"This is the Samajwadi Party's model of development. A project originally estimated at Rs 200 crore ended up costing Rs 800 crore. With what audacity do they speak of development?" Adityanath said.
The estimated cost for the Gomti River Front project was Rs 300 crore but Rs 1,400 crore was spent, the chief minister alleged.
Referring to the Jewar airport, he said the government decided to build Asia's largest airport as UP's population is the largest. He added that when fully operational, it will directly employ 1 lakh young people.
"This airport was built in the area known as the crime capital of not only Uttar Pradesh but the country before 2017. Heinous crimes of all kinds were rampant there. Every activity would stop after 5 pm. A curfew-like atmosphere prevailed until 10 am.
"And today, due to the speed of this double-engine government, its strong willpower, within just nine years, we made Uttar Pradesh the best investment destination for the country and the world," he said.
Adityanath said now every major institution in the country and the wider world wants to come here.
"In today's age, the entire world is helpless without semiconductors. Just as the world feels helpless without oil, the world is just as helpless without semiconductors. And now, they will be built in Uttar Pradesh.
"Could anyone have imagined this before 2017? Why? All the work couldn't be done before 2017. Because there was no thinking, no willpower... They didn't want to do it before. Even today, they don't have the willpower. Instead, they are disrupting work that is being done."
Adityanath said the state that used to be "BIMARU" (sick) has been transformed into the growth engine of India's economy.
"A state that lacked funds to pay salaries now has a revenue surplus. Despite being the country's most populous state, it ranked lowest in per capita income, among the bottom five or six. The same state is now among the top three economies in the country."