PM Modi cautions people against 'revdi culture' of offering freebies for votes

PM Modi said the culture could be 'very dangerous' for the country's development

Apparently targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has announced that it will provide free power to the people in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh ahead of the Assembly polls in the two states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday slammed what he termed the 'Revdi Culture' to garner votes in the elections and asked the youths not to fall prey to it.

"Muft mein revri baant kar vote batorne ka culture aa raha hai.....isse desh ke logon aur yuvaon ko savdhan rehna hai (a culture of promising freebies like revdi to garner votes is there these days....the people and youths must be careful)," Modi said while speaking at a function at Orai, about 200 kilometres from here, after launching the 296-kilometre long Bundelkhand Expressway linking Delhi and Chitrakoot.

Read | PM Modi inaugurates 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh

"Those offering revdi (a popular sweet in UP) will never build expressways, defense corridors or airports...the double engine government is trying to develop the state not offering revri," the prime minister said.

Modi said that the 'Revdi Culture' was "very dangerous" for the country.

The AAP, which has declared to contest on all seats in the forthcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, has declared that it will provide free electricity to the people if the party forms its governments in the two states where polls are scheduled to be held later in the year.

Heaping praise on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the prime minister said that the former had taken several steps for all round development of the state. "Not only has the law and order improved in his government but the state has also been witnessing development on all fronts," he added.

He said that Uttar Pradesh now had better connectivity.

Modi urged the Uttar Pradesh government to develop the region as a tourist hub also. "There are many forts in this region....in Europe a large number of tourists flock to see the forts....I will urge the state government to prepare a plan for tourist circuit in the region," he added.