Lucknow, Mar 5 (UNI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday attacked the main opposition Samajwadi Party and said during its tenure the unemployment rate stood at 17 percent, whereas today it has dropped to 3 percent, a clear indication that employment opportunities have significantly increased.
Participating in the debate on the state budget in the Legislative Council, the CM said, “Employment-related programmes are being implemented at various levels. UP is a state with infinite possibilities. It boasts the best agricultural land, a strong MSME sector, abundant water resources, a well-connected rail network, the largest population and the highest youth power. Where do you intend to take a state with such advantages?”
Taking a dig at the SP’s “misgovernance”, he said under its rule, farmers were driven to suicide, youth migrated for jobs and law and order had collapsed. “Riots took place every other day. Who would invest in a state where neither security nor capital was safe?” he asked.
Exposing the SP’s “flawed” policies, Yogi said the party spent Rs 15 crore just to organise an event for distributing Rs 20 crore as unemployment allowance. Stressing the importance of connectivity as the backbone of industrial investment, he said under the double-engine government, UP has achieved excellent connectivity via water, land, and air.
He said that UP was once considered a landlocked state, limiting its export potential, but under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Waterways-1 was launched between Haldia and Varanasi, opening new avenues for trade and logistics. “With this development, the state has successfully overcome its landlocked status, ensuring better connectivity to the eastern port,” he said.
Highlighting UP’s strategic connectivity advantage, the CM emphasised that the junction of the Eastern and Western Freight Corridors is located in UP, further strengthening the state’s industrial and logistical framework.
Yogi said that with the completion of the Ganga Expressway, 55 percent of the country’s expressways will be in UP. “The state already boasts the largest rail network, the most metro cities, India’s first rapid rail system and the 12-lane expressway between Delhi and Meerut, underscoring the infrastructure strength of the double-engine government,” he said.
He said that to enhance industrial investment and strengthen logistics, the government has established the Inland Waterway Authority. He announced that the budget includes provisions for new expressways, with funds allocated for the construction of an expressway connecting the Ganga Expressway to the Agra-Lucknow Expressway via Farrukhabad.
The CM announced a Rs 700 crore budgetary provision for the construction of two bridges in Prayagraj, including a Signature Bridge in Naini and another parallel to the Shastri Bridge.
