New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday showered praise on Yogi Adityanath over the state govt’s handling of Covid-19 pandemic, saying that the vast preparations made by UP CM saved at least 85,000 lives, something that was unthinkable before 2017.
While launching the ‘Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan’ via video conferencing, PM Modi said, “Uttar Pradesh is bigger than many countries of the world. Looking at the hard work done by the state government to contain the coronavirus pandemic; we can say that it has managed to save 85,000 lives.”
PM Modi said that Yogi Adityanath govt managed to turn the epidemic into an opportunity, which the governments prior to 2017 would have avoided. He referred to a stampede in Allahabad during the Kumbh Mela, when a former prime minister was in power who was also an MP from the city, saying the PM made all efforts to brush the “deaths of hundreds of thousands” pilgrims under the carpet.
“If Yogiji and his team had not made proper preparations, today 85,000 people would have lost their lives if we compare with other countries. We can say that the hard work done by the UP government saved so many lives,” he said.
‘Yogi and his team turned epidemic into opportunity’
“In the coronavirus crisis, Uttar Pradesh has shown courage and temperament. It has achieved success and the way it fought coronavirus and handled the situation, it is phenomenal,” the Prime Minister said.
PM @narendramodi launches Aatma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyaan#UttarPradesh government has given quantitative & qualitative expansion to Pradhan Mantri #GaribKalyanRojgarAbhiyaan, linking the scheme completely with the goals of #AatmaNirbharBharat: PM pic.twitter.com/vnA3QviG8s
— PIB India (@PIB_India) June 26, 2020
“I praise 24 crore citizens of Uttar Pradesh. Its doctors, paramedic staff, sanitation workers, police personnel, Asha and Aanganwadi workers, bank and post office officials, transport officials, and others all contributed in the fight against the pandemic,” the Prime Minister said.
He said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his team did a great job.
Speaking about the works done by the Adityanath government, he said the chief minister”s dedication was evident in the fact that he opted to miss his father”s last rites.
‘600 deaths in UP Vs 1.3 lakh in West with same population’
The Prime Minister then made a comparison of deaths in four countries of Europe with those in UP, Prime Minister Modi said, “England, France, Italy and Spain. If we combine the population of these countries then their population is the same as that of Uttar Pradesh which is 24 crore. During coronavirus, 1,30,000 people have died in these countries. But in UP with the same population, 600 people died during coronavirus. It is true that death is death and each person’s death is sad. But we have to accept that these four countries made a lot of efforts, but still, they lost so many lives in compared to Uttar Pradesh.”
“America has every facility but still that country is badly affected by COVID-19. The population of the US is 33 crore. In the US, 1,25,000 people have died. In UP, 600 people died. If Yogi Adityanath’s government had not prepared well then today in UP, 85,000 lives would have been lost. So we can say that the UP government is able to save the lives of 85,000 people,” he added.
