Didn't become PM to cut ribbons and light lamps: Narendra Modi

Raises OROP at Uttarakhand rally, says issue was pending for 40 years, previous govts misled forces

Addressing a public rally in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came down heavily on his critics, saying that he hadn't come to power merely to cut ribbons and light lamps.

The remarks came even as Modi inaugurated the the Chardham highway, which is expected to improve connectivity between the four pilgrimage centres of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The assembly polls in the state are scheduled to be held shortly.

In a fiery speech, the Prime Minister said that the people of Uttarakhand were no longer willing to wait for development, and that the inauguration of the Chardham is a tribute to those who lost their lives in the flash floods that hit the state in 2013.

Asserting that Uttarakhand's economy was centred around tourism, Modi said that if proper infrastructure was provided, the sector would bustle, and people from all over would flock to the state.  He claimed that the Chardham project offered employment opportunities for state's citizens.

Reminding the people that the country had given the absolute majority to a single party for the first time in years, Modi nudged to them to decide whether they got him to power just to inaugurate small projects, or to deliver the goods. He reiterated his claim that he had been appointed a chowkidaar (sentry) of the people and that 'some people' -- indicating the Opposition -- had a huge problem with this.

The Prime Minister also raised the issue of One Rank, One Pension (OROP), stating that its implementation had been pending for as many as 40 years and that previous governments had mislead the armed forces about it. He added that the budget for OROP is over Rs 10,000 crore and slammed the Congress for betraying the Jawans by allocating 500 crore. He claimed his government had already disbursed Rs 6,600 crore under the scheme.

Modi claimed that after years 70 of independence, 18,000 villages did not have electricity and said his Government took on the challenge of electrifying villages within 1,000 days. He further claimed that over 12,000 villages had already been electrified.

   
On the issue of black money, the Prime Minister said his government was fighting against hoarders, even as he acknowledged the inconvenience faced by the people due to demonetisation. Despite that, the nation came forward to fight corruption, he said, adding that the corrupt were now being punished as he had earlier promised. Lauding the 'success' of demonetisation, he said that fake notes, terrorism, human trafficking, drug mafia were dealt with in one stroke after demonetisation was announced on November 8.