Roads in Madhya Pradesh no less than US: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

"After going to the United States, I said, 'Dear Americans, you must have made roads, but we have made better roads than you'," said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Shahdol: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power, the state got more electricity and better roads, which are no less than the roads of the United States. He criticised the Congress party for making Madhya Pradesh an "ailing state" during its regime. 

"Madhya Pradesh is my temple and people living here are my gods. I am the priest of the state people. However, people in Congress say that they don't need to go to people to seek blessings as the people will themselves come to them. Congress should not humiliate the people as there is nobody above them," Chouhan said while addressing a rally Shahdol as part of his 'Jan Ashirvad Yatra`.

"I want to ask you all whether Congress did during its regime what BJP has done in Shahdol? Did they make such high-class roads? Did they give you schools and colleges? Congress has broken the heart of Shahdol. During the Congress regime, people used to call Madhya Pradesh as a 'bemaru' (ailing) state because there was no electricity or roads earlier. After going to the United States, I said, 'Dear Americans, you must have made roads, but we have made better roads than you.' However, Congress criticised me for saying this. I want to say again that our roads are no less than the US," he added.

In October 2017, Chouhan had raised eyebrows when he said roads in Madhya Pradesh were far better than those he had seen in the United States. "When I got down at the Washington Airport and travelled on roads, I felt the roads in Madhya Pradesh are better than the United States," the Chief Minister had said while speaking at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.

During his rally on Wednesday, the Chief Minister went on to take a pot shot at the Congress party and said that today "under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regime no nation has the power to neglect India". "We have made 1.5 lakh kilometre roads in Madhya Pradesh. Congress gave 1,900 MW electricity, but today we are giving 18,000 MW electricity. Madhya Pradesh has become power surplus state today," he said.

"For years Congress kept saying 'Garibi Hatao'. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi kept saying that but tell me, did Congress eliminate poverty? I have to eliminate poverty and change the lives of people of Madhya Pradesh," he added.