Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday addressed the Uttarakhand Rajyotsav Samaroh in Dehradun, where, he said, 63 development projects worth Rs 1,508 crore were inaugurated or had their foundation stones laid on the day, according to ANI. Shah was welcomed by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, and the two honoured 15 people with the Uttarakhand Gaurav Samman, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via Daily Prabhat

Shah accused the Congress of not making roads in border areas of Uttarakhand and stalling development works in the fear of Chinese intrusion, IANS reported. 'They used to say that if roads are made, China will attempt to make intrusions. But we did build roads, and PM Modi built the country in a way that today no one will dare to touch India's borders,' he said, according to IANS.

Source: IANS via Asia Post

He alleged that the Congress had left the state as a 'money order economy' and kept it away from development, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi transformed border villages into the first villages of the country under the Vibrant Villages Programme, both wire reports said. Without naming Pakistan, he said those who dared to touch India's borders were answered with surgical strikes and Operation Sindoor.

Growth figures and the SIR attack

Citing state figures, Shah said Uttarakhand's Gross State Domestic Product has grown by 50 per cent since 2022 and per capita income by 40 per cent, and that industrial projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore have already hit the ground, IANS and ANI both reported. He also referred to the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in the state and said it would slowly be implemented in all BJP-ruled states, according to IANS.

On the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Shah dubbed Rahul Gandhi's campaign a 'Ghuspatiya Bachao Yatra', alleging the Congress had not abandoned appeasement, both reports said. Expressing confidence ahead of next year's Assembly elections, he said the BJP would form the government in Uttarakhand for a third time. The Congress response to Shah's remarks was not included in the wire reports read for this story.

Uttarakhand was formed on November 9, 2000 as India's 27th state, carved out of Uttar Pradesh, and the Rajyotsav Samaroh marks its 26th Foundation Day. Shah paid tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who created the state, and to those who lost their lives in the statehood struggle, IANS reported.