Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday attacked the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress, saying that before the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh, they had turned the state into a “Bimaru rajya”.
Speaking at an event in Lucknow, Shah claimed that UP, which was once considered a source of labour, is now a “growth engine”.
“Every district of the state will have employment opportunities. Youth will not have to go out of state for a job. There was a time UP was considered a source of labour. Today, it is a growth engine. Congress and SP had turned the state into a Bimaru rajya. Today it is the growth engine of the country,” Shah said.
Shah said that no one could imagine UP as a growth engine of the country before 2017 (the year the BJP came to power in the state). He also claimed that the law-and-order situation in the state had improved.
“Ram Mandir has come up in Ayodhya. The Mahakumbh in Prayagraj is an example of Sanatana Dharma. Today, UP exports 11 per cent of its electronic goods. Today, UP is an IT Centre and a Data Centre. Before 2017, no one could have imagined that UP would become the country’s growth engine. Law and order have improved in the state. Connectivity has improved in the state. UP in every age has played an important role in keeping the country secure,” Shah said.