Amethi is like family, this bond will never break: Smriti Irani

Amethi (UP), May 26 (PTI) Asserting that she has an "old connection with Amethi", BJP leader Smriti Irani on Monday said that her bond with people of the region is like a family relationship, which can never be broken.

Irani, who represented Amethi Lok Sabha seat in 2019, turned emotional as she visited her former parliamentary constituency after nearly 11 months to participate in a seminar.

"I have an old connection with Amethi. It's a relationship of family, of blood, such ties are never weak and never break. Amethi has accepted me as a sister and the bond of a sister with her home only ends with her funeral," said Irani.

"The relationship you all have built with me will not be allowed to break," she added.

The BJP leader assured the crowd that she would no longer wait for 11 months to visit Amethi again.

Emphasising rural development, Irani said the vision of a strong nation is incomplete without the progress of its villages and communities.

"When the BJP government was formed under the leadership of Narendra Modi in 2014, it laid special emphasis on rural development," she added.

Taking a jibe at the Congress without directly naming the opposition party, Irani said, "Before 2014, the budget allocated for panchayat development was Rs 70,000 crore. This was increased to Rs 2.5 lakh crore. As a result, India is not just stronger today, but our economy now ranks fourth in the world." Escalating her attack on the Congress, the BJP leader claimed that no recruitment was carried out for 32 years from the local army recruitment office.

"It was the Modi government that restarted the process, enabling 10,000 local youth to join the armed forces," she said.

Irani credited Prime Minister Modi with establishing a gun factory in Amethi that has so far delivered 33,000 rifles to the Indian Army.

"India's enemies have felt the strength of these rifles," she said.

Highlighting the development works carried out in the constituency during her tenure and under the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh, Irani said the "double-engine government" brought projects such as a Sainik School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, medical college, fertilizer rake center, Krishi Vigyan Kendra and a Coca Cola factory to Amethi.

"What non-BJP governments failed to do, the Modi government delivered," she added.

The seminar attended by Irani was organised at Ranjay Inter College grounds in Gauriganj, marking the birth centenary celebrations of Ahilyabai Holkar.

The seminar was also addressed by Uttar Pradesh Minister Satish Chandra Sharma, Amethi Zila Panchayat chairperson Rajesh Agrahari and BJP district president Sudhanshu Shukla.

On her way to Amethi from Lucknow, Irani visited Palpur village in Jagdishpur and met the family of Bal Chandra Kaushal, who died after drowning in the in the Ganga river at Dalmau Ghat, Raebareli, during an ashes immersion ritual. She offered her condolences and assured the family of all possible support.

Earlier in the day, Irani met the BJP workers and office bearers at the district party office. PTI COR KIS AS AS