KATHUA: Union Minister and BJP Candidate for Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Lok Sabha constituency Dr Jitendra Singh, in his welcome address at the mammoth rally addressed by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, said here today that neglected by Congress for several decades, the entire development in Udhampur Kathua Doda constituency had happened only in the last 10 years after Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister. Kathua was fortunate to have been developed by Modi and blessed by Yogi, he added. Welcoming Yogi Adityanath to Kathua, Dr Jitendra Singh said, he is personally indebted because he knows that UP Chief Minister is terribly hard pressed for time as a large number of Lok Sabha seats in UP itself are going to poll in first phase, but on his single phone call, Yogi accepted his invitation to come to Kathua. He said, even today Yogi has travelled from Ghaziabad leaving his campaign halfway to be with us just for about 45 minutes before he goes back to Meerut. Dr Jitendra Singh said, Kathua is a historic city and its history is intermingled with the history of Bharatiya Jan Sangh, Bharatiya Janata Party and independent India. He recalled that it was here that the founder of Bharatiya Jan Sangh and the then MP Syama Prasad Mookerjee had courted arrest while demanding full integration of Jammu & Kashmir with the rest of India. The sacrifice made by Mookerjee not only created a vibrant current of nationalism across the country but also went on to add energy to the movement for the integration of Jammu & Kashmir by the then Bharatiya Jan Sangh and carried forward by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Dr Jitendra Singh said that because this area was supposed to be a stronghold of Bharatiya Jan Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party,hence the Congress and its allies, following a policy of appeasement, did not attend to this region and deprived it of several national level projects which were meant for this region. It was only after 2014, said Dr Jitendra Singh,that after Prime Minister Modi came in, the lapses of the past were sought to be corrected. For example, he said, during the last 10 years Kathua has emerged among the country’s most developed Lok Sabha constituencies. It is possibly the only constituency which has three medical colleges, highest railway bridge in the world, longest road tunnel of Asia, first River rejuvenation of North India namely Rive Devika cleaning project, first Homoeopathy College of North India, first Biotech Park of North India, several national highways and several national hydro projects besides getting two Vande Bharat trains and numerous other benefits, Dr Jitendra Singh added that this has been possible only and only because of the blessings of Prime Minister Modi and with Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Kathua today, we now have double blessings of both “Modi Yogi”.He said, the people of this region hold Modi and Yogi in great awe and they cite the example in the manner in which Yogi has changed the entire scenario in Uttar Pradesh particularly with respect to ensuring the security of women folk. Dr Jitendra Singh noted that while Modi gave preference to the building of toilets for women and has so far built more than 11 Crore toilets across the country, Yogi gave these toilets the name of “Izzat Ghar”, thereby according due respect to the women. He said, this is the reason that the Nari Shakti of India has huge enthusiasm in Modi and Yogi, and is always eager to have a glimpse of Yogi and also listen to the words of wisdom and faith from him.
