Varanasi, Dec 18: Heaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that under the leadership of PM Modi, we are witnessing a "new India" and for the first time, poor are on agenda list of the government.

"Under the leadership of PM Modi, we are witnessing a new India, where 140 crores of Indians are living with pride and seeing the world-class infrastructure in the country. We are proud of our heritage. For the first time, the poor are on the agenda list of a government", CM Yogi said while addressing a public gathering.

"People from every section of society are receiving benefits from Modiji's Guarantee ki Gaadi without any discrimination", he added.

The UP Chief Minister is in Kashi as part of a two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the city.

He reached Kashi Vishwanath Dham along with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State Ravi Shankar Jaiswal where they worshipped and performed rituals after which CM Yogi departed from the temple.

CM Yogi was also present along with PM Modi at the inauguration of Swarved Mahamandir at Umaraha and he will also be accompanying the Prime Minister at a public meeting in Barki, Varanasi.

The administration is on alert given the increased VVIP movement in the city due to the presence of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly-built Swarved Mahamandir in Umaraha, Varanasi, on Monday.

While participating in the inaugurating ceremony the Prime Minister said the wheel of time had turned for India and in a way stressed it was time to move away from the mentality of slavery. In the same breath, the prime minister said Indians must take pride in their heritage.

"The work which started from Somnath has now become a campaign," PM Modi said, addressing the gathering. He noted reconstruction of India's old cultural symbols was necessary after the Independence.

"The tyrants who tried to weaken India during the period of slavery first targeted our symbols. After independence, reconstruction of these cultural symbols was necessary," he said.

"Today the grandeur of Vishwanath Dham in Kashi is singing the story of India's imperishable glory, Mahakaal Mahalok is giving proof of our immortality, Kedarnath Dham is also touching new heights of development," he said.

"If we had respected our cultural identity, the sense of unity and self-respect within the country would have been stronger. But unfortunately, this did not happen. After independence, there was opposition even to the reconstruction of the Somnath temple and this thinking dominated the country for decades," he asserted.

Talking about Varanasi, also known as Kashi, which is the Prime Minister's parliamentary constituency, he said it is that city that crafted India's art and took it to unimaginable heights.

"From here new avenues of knowledge and research opened up. Unlimited possibilities related to enterprises and industries were born. Along with faith, sciences like Yoga flourished, and from here also flowed continuous streams of human values for the entire world," he added.

"Now Banaras means development, now Banaras means modern facilities with faith, now Banaras means cleanliness and change, Banaras is today moving on a unique path of development," he added.

The Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Varanasi. During the visit, he will dedicate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects costing around Rs. 19,150 crore.

He will participate in the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra in Sewapuri, a rural area of his constituency. He will also witness some live sports events by participants of Kashi Sansad Khel Pratiyogita 2023.

An official release said earlier that in the last nine years, the Prime Minister has put a special focus on transforming the landscape of Varanasi and enhancing the ease of living for the people living in Varanasi and adjoining regions.

(ANI)

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