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Updated: Sep 21, 2019 16:03 IST

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Saturday his government has been able to re-establish the state’s identity and have turned challenges into successes through able administrative machinery and by attracting investors.

Adityanath was speaking at the first episode of the ‘Highway of Progress’ programme of HT’s sister publication Hindustan in Agra.

As Adityanath talked about his government’s achievements after completing two and a half years in office, he said Uttar Pradesh has huge potential but was never tapped properly.

Adityanath listed the smooth conduct of Kumbh Mela, Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas and maintaining law and order in Uttar Pradesh as his government’s major achievement.

The chief minister said he was entrusted with the state’s responsibility in 2017 when it was struggling with an identity crisis as he attacked previous governments.

“Then I was told that this responsibility would be a big challenge. As soon as I got the responsibility, I started turning the challenges into opportunities and as a result, I can say that I have succeeded in re-establishing the identity of UP,” he said.

The chief minister said his government proved itself with the successful completion of Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj and said the administration’s meticulous work ensured that the pilgrimage was successful.

“We proved that Uttar Pradesh has everything to achieve its potential. Kumbh earlier was a tale of mismanagement chaos. PM Narendra Modi had asked us to project Kumbh as an international event,” he said.

Adityanath said he invited several foreign ambassadors to Kumbh Mela and residents of six lakh villages and a record 24 crore pilgrims also attended the event. “There was no dirt, there was no chaos and all was well. It was a big deal,” he said.

There was a time, the chief minister said, when no one wanted to invest in UP but the state is now attracting investors through several summits every year.

“In the third summit, we had received a proposal to invest Rs 2.5 million. We are now going to organise a defence summit. There is a lot of excitement about this. This is an auspicious occasion and good for the prosperity of the state,” he said.

“With this, the state’s economy with a $1 trillion economy and the country will achieve the target of becoming a $5 trillion economy,” he added.

The chief minister also said that his government successfully hosted the Pravasi Diwas in Prime Minister Modi’s constituency of Varanasi. “In Varanasi, we set up tent city which was so good that guests who had booked into hotels left their rooms and stayed in the tents,” the CM said.

The chief minister also cited the peaceful conduct of the Lok Sabha elections in the state in April-May as further proof of his government’s grip on law and order. “The Lok Sabha elections were spread across 1,63,000 booths but there was no untoward incident.”

Adityanath also mentioned the economic slowdown in the country and said it is not going to last and “we will overcome it.”

“We are going to benefit from the corporate exemption given by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. We will benefit from the trade war between China and the US. This will increase investment in the country,” he said.

As the chief ministers took questions from the audience, he talked about the steps his government will take towards the improvement of medical services in state and doctors in will have to work for a year and two in a rural hospital.

He said that controlling population is necessary is his government’s priority and “we are working on it.”