Lucknow, March 18 Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that the BJP government in the state had removed the "bad omen" tag attached to Noida due to previous administrations, making Uttar Pradesh an "excellent destination for investment".
Speaking at a programme at Lok Bhavan to mark nine years of his government, Adityanath said that before 2017, "those who called our faith superstition" stayed away from Noida, believing that they would lose their power and position.
He said that these beliefs created artificial barriers to growth, particularly in Noida.
A myth had been nurtured for decades that any chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who visited Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar district was destined to lose power.
Mayawati, who took oath as the UP CM in March 2007, had visited Noida in November that year to attend the wedding of a close aide's relative. However, the BSP supremo's bold move, which was seen as a myth-buster at the time, was followed by her ouster from power in 2012.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who became the CM in 2012, continued the trend of avoiding in-person visits to Noida, which was often dubbed as the "show window" to Uttar Pradesh.
Targeting the previous governments, he said that they allowed "bad omens" and superstition to dictate their governance decisions, but his administration broke these beliefs, paving the way for development in the state.
"…when I was given the responsibility of the chief minister, I said, 'I will go to Noida'. If my position goes later because of it, better it goes today. But I will go to Noida. If it is good for the state, I will go there and remove the obstacles to Noida's development,' Adityanath said.
Today, Noida and Greater Noida are on the path of development and contributing to the country's development, he added.
"…if we hadn't gone to Noida, UP wouldn't have been able to manufacture 55 per cent of the country's mobile phones, and 60 per cent of the country's electronic components wouldn't have been manufactured in UP because it had become a bad omen for the state," he said.
"…we had decided that we would remove this bad omen. We won't let it hinder development. Today, we have removed. Uttar Pradesh has emerged as an excellent destination for investment," the CM said.
Drawing a contrast with Ayodhya, Adityanath criticised earlier regimes, saying, "When it comes to Ayodhya, what did the previous governments say about Ayodhya? Ram never existed."
These people used to call our faith superstition. The superstition was that we should not go to Noida," he added.
Highlighting broader infrastructure gains, the chief minister said that Uttar Pradesh has emerged as an infrastructure-driven state, with 55 per cent of the country's expressways located in the state — a share that will rise to 60 per cent with the completion of the Ganga Expressway this month.
He added that improved infrastructure and policy measures have helped position Uttar Pradesh as a major investment destination, with projects worth Rs 15 lakh crore already grounded and another Rs 6 lakh crore in the pipeline.