Modi woos 'Purvanchal' with expressway, slams Opposition

The 341-km expressway links state capital Lucknow with Ghazipur

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invoked the rich history of the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh to seek the support of the people even as he attacked his rivals for 'neglecting' the region and 'promoting' mafia elements.

Addressing a public meeting after launching the Purvanchal Expressway — which would connect Lucknow with Ghazipur district — in Sultanpur, Modi sought to establish an emotional connection with the people by starting his speech in the local dialect and said that the Expressway would 'unite' the state.

Read: Previous govts reduced eastern UP to 'mafiawaad' and poverty: PM Modi

"On this sacred land, Lord Hanuman had killed Kalinemi (demon)......the people of the region had also fought valiantly against the Britishers during the first war of independence in 1857...no one can forget their sacrifices," the prime minister said.

Modi, who landed on the expressway in the Indian Air Force's Super Hercules C-130 J aircraft, heaped praise on UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath. He said that the Yogi had acted tough against the mafia elements and the people of the region now felt safe.

The prime minister said that the earlier regimes had ignored the region and had instead promoted and patronised the mafia elements. "Yogi Adityanathji has changed all that," he added.

"Development in the previous regime was confined only to their families...the common man was not benefited by them," he said.

He also invoked former UP chief minister Sripati Mishra, who hailed from the district, and said that the latter's family was 'humiliated' by the previous regime. "The people will never forget their humiliation," he remarked.

Built at a cost of Rs 22,000 crore, the expressway would be connecting nine districts and would also be connected to the Lucknow-Agra Expressway, directly connecting Noida with Ghazipur.

The fighter aircraft of the IAF also conducted an air show on the expressway strip after Modi's address. A large number of people from the nearby areas had flocked the site to witness the air show.