CM Yogi Adityanath pays tribute to former PM Chandra Shekhar in Ballia on Sunday. Twitter/ @myogiadityanathUnveiling a statue of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar in Ballia on Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of development projects worth Rs 80 crore in the district. He later also visited Chandauli and launched about 57 development projects worth around Rs 963.52 crore.
Chandra Shekhar, who was the prime minister during 1990-91, was born in Ballia’s Ibrahim Patti village.The statue was unveiled at Chandra Shekhar Udyan in the district.
Addressing a public meeting, Adityanath said there is an immense scope of food processing enterprises and sending them through waterways. He also urged farmer producer organisations (FPOs) to come forward and explore opportunities in international markets for their agricultural products .
“This can help achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of doubling farmers’ incomes and also contribute towards making UP a $1-trillion economy. Cargos and the inland waterways service introduced between Haldia and Varanasi, via Ballia, can play a vital role in facilitating export of fresh vegetables from the district,” said the CM while adding that the move will enable thousands of people to get jobs in the state.
The CM also directed people’s representatives to come up with a proposal for a medical college in Ballia so that necessary action could be taken by the government as part of its goal to build a medical college in each district of the state. He also emphasised the need for increasing the number of doctors posted in hospitals in Ibrahim Patti and linking more local residents with schemes like Ayushman Bharat and Jan Aarogya Yojana.
Calling the former PM a “jan nayak”, Adityanath said, “He was a leader of independent India, who rose above party lines to do value-based politics. He was against moves to crush democracy and contributed to strengthening parliamentary democracy…He gave Ballia a new identity.” Chandra Shekhar also supported the Swadeshi movement, which made him popular in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the CM said.
In Chandauli, the CM distributed letters to beneficiaries of various government schemes, inaugurated an exhibition based on the government’s plans for development of the state, participated in the ‘annaprashan’ ceremony of children. He was accompanied by Union Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey and other officials. Adityanath said that soon, with assistance from Israel through an ‘Indo-Israel Center of Excellence for Vegetables’, Chandauli will also become an ideal centre for vegetable production.