Lucknow: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that under the past govt, mafia was so powerful that police did not have the courage to reclaim their own land but under double-engine govt, gangsters themselves surrendered land on which a grand state forensic institute building stands today.“Nine years ago, a notorious mafia had occupied land belonging to the police in Lucknow and he was so powerful that the police did not have the courage to get their own land vacated. When he saw the bulldozer of double-engine govt, the mafia surrendered the land on his own,” the CM said, during an event, Digital Democracy Dialogue ‘Triveni’.“Today, on that very land stands the grand building of the State Forensic Institute. The institute is not only a centre of forensic and cyber security, but is also a leading institution for certificate, diploma and degree courses related to modern technologies,” he said.Speaking on issues like the role of media, law and order, forensic infrastructure, defence corridor, tourism, medical education and cultural heritage, the CM highlighted the changes in UP over the past nine years under his govt.Highlighting his govt’s proactive policies, the CM spoke about the manufacturing of BrahMos missiles in Lucknow, taking place on 200 acres of land that UP govt provided free of cost.“Three days after the first BrahMos missile was manufactured, it rained down on Pakistan. What is the value of land, what can be greater than the security of the nation? This land has been given free of cost, but when about 150 BrahMos missiles are manufactured every year, then UP will receive about Rs 135 crore as GST,” he said.The CM also outlined that under the UP Defence Manufacturing Corridor, new possibilities of defence production had developed in Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Aligarh, Jhansi and Chitrakoot. Where an investment of Rs 20 to 25,000 crore was expected, he said, proposals worth Rs 35,000 crore have been received.The CM said that since 2017, UP had emerged from a crisis of identity and had joined the top economies of the country. “The state has 60% of the total expressways in the country, a road network of 4 lakh kilometres, and four-lane connectivity with all district headquarters,” he said.“The state is now being defined by One District-One Product, One District-One Cuisine and One District-One Medical College,” Yogi added.“UP has covered a long journey over the past nine years. It has been freed from the crisis of identity, emerged from the category of a BIMARU state and became the breakthrough of India’s economy, and realised its strength in every sector,” Yogi remarked.“UP is no longer counted among the backward states of the country, but is the third largest economy in the country,” he said.Making a strong pitch to keep views out of news, the CM said that media should present news and keep personal views out of it.“It is not appropriate to consider only the negative as news. You can give the courage to connect the opinion of society with the truth. Walking with the truth is a big challenge, but ultimately ‘Satyamev Jayate’, that is, only the truth wins,” he said.
