At 4-day memorial festival for Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, CM Yogi praised PM Modi’s leadership, citing achievements like Article 370 abrogation and Ram Temple construction. He stressed youth empowerment and UP’s rise as India’s 2nd-largest economy.
At the four-day memorial festival dedicated to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, the pioneer of Antyodaya and a key proponent of Integral Humanism, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paid tribute and said, “Panditji’s vision is being realized today under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” He remarked that the ideas Pandit Upadhyaya presented to India’s political leadership in the 1950s have now taken concrete shape through initiatives like Vocal for Local and Swadeshi.
Highlighting the achievements of his government, the Chief Minister said that under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the “impossible has been made possible”, whether it is the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, the construction of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, or providing free ration to 80 crore people. What was once thought unattainable has now become the strength of the nation. He added, “Guided by Pandit Deen Dayal’s mantra, India has risen to become the world’s fourth-largest economy and is on course to soon take the third position.”
Addressing the youth, the Chief Minister emphasized that this is the era of youth power, and Uttar Pradesh, with its vast young population, will drive India’s future progress. He said, “Under the CM Yuva Scheme, the government is providing interest-free and collateral-free loans of up to ₹5 lakh. Since January, 70,000 young people have benefited, with a target to reach 1 lakh beneficiaries. Today, India’s youth are not only seeking jobs but are creating them through startups in IT, ODOP (One District, One Product), and even cow-based farming.” He further assured that outsourced workers in any department across Uttar Pradesh will receive a guaranteed minimum honorarium of ₹16,000 to ₹20,000.
Taking on the Congress and Samajwadi Party, CM Yogi said, “Earlier governments used the word ‘impossible’ as an excuse for their failures, which weakened both Uttar Pradesh and the nation. At independence, UP contributed 14% to the national GDP, but due to years of misrule, the state slipped to the eighth position by 2017. The double-engine government has since restored Uttar Pradesh to its rightful place as the country’s second-largest economy.”
The Chief Minister further said, “Congress and its allies had made Kashmir a festering wound for the nation. While many once claimed that removing Article 370 was impossible, Prime Minister Modi turned it into reality, just as he fulfilled the long-standing resolve of constructing the Ram Mandir.” Recalling Pandit Deen Dayal’s slogan, “The Kashmir where Mukherjee was martyred is ours,” CM Yogi said that today Article 370 has been buried forever. Kashmir has become an inseparable part of India.
Reemphasising Pandit Deen Dayal’s belief that India’s economic foundation must be rooted in indigenous values, the Chief Minister noted how millions of artisans and craftsmen have found livelihood opportunities through ODOP and the Vocal for Local movement. He appealed to citizens to purchase and gift only indigenous products during festivals, avoiding foreign goods, so that money strengthens farmers and artisans instead of funding forces that promote terrorism and Naxalism. He underlined, “Where there are indigenous products, there is self-reliance; where there is self-reliance, there is true independence; and where there is independence, empowerment naturally follows. This is the mantra of Pandit Deen Dayal Ji.”
The four-day festival will showcase exhibitions of indigenous goods, cow-based farming models, and women’s self-reliance initiatives, reflecting the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Atmanirbhar Uttar Pradesh. The event was attended by Union Minister Prof. SP Singh Baghel, State Ministers Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan Singh, Jaiveer Singh, Madhusudan, Sohanlal, Manish Agarwal, Narendra Pathak, Savita, Chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Women Babita Chauhan, MLA Puran Prakash, members of the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Memorial Committee, and a large number of citizens.