'Under CM Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh has lived up to...': Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Lucknow, Feb 10 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh has lived up to its initials 'UP'.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors' Summit, 2023 here, Singh said under the BJP rule, Uttar Pradesh has emerged as an "extremely reliable destination" for investors.

"Under the leadership of the chief minister, Uttar Pradesh has lived up to its initials 'UP'. Now, UP means health up, UP means education up, UP means skill up, UP means infrastructure up, UP means development up, and UP means return on investment up," he said.

"Today, India has become the most attractive destination for investment in the world. UP rising and India rising are two sides of the same coin," he added.

Singh took a dig at previous governments, saying earlier, investing in UP was considered "waste", but today it is viewed as "best".

"The country has witnessed a period during which, people used to hesitate to venture into the business sector despite various resources and a conducive atmosphere," Singh said.

"In the name of pseudo secularism, industrialists were stopped from moving ahead and damage was caused to the established industries. Industrial activity was seen as a different activity from society," he added.

Old and ineffective laws, which had become a red tape, in the current regime, have become a red carpet, Singh said.

Citing the "development" witnessed in Gujarat when Narendra Modi was the CM of the state, Singh said Uttar Pradesh too will achieve similar feat as the prime minister has now "held the hand of UP".

Modi is an MP from Varanasi constituency of Uttar Pradesh.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister inaugurated the flagship investment summit of the Uttar Pradesh government here that will come to an end on February 12.

(The above article is sourced from news agency IANS. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency IANS is solely responsible for the contents of the article)