Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, on Friday said that the previous governments made the state “Bimaru,” while his government recognised its unlimited potential and is striving to make it number one among the states in terms of economy.
Adityanath was making a public address in Ghaziabad’s Nehru Nagar, where he had come to launch a book written by former MP Ramesh Chandra Tomar. Adityanath said that UP is the number two economy among the states in the country, and the ‘Viksit Bharat’ dream will be achieved when there is ‘Viksit Uttar Pradesh’.
“Before 2017, UP was Bimaru and was considered a barrier in Bharat’s development. The state is not eighth but number two in terms of economy now, and we are striving to make it number one…,” Adityanath said.
The term BIMARU was coined by the late demographer and economic analyst Ashish Bose in the 1980s. He used the term as an acronym for the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, to highlight their poor socio-economic and demographic indicators, phonetically similar to the Hindi word “bimar” (sick).
Adityanath, a five-time Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur, became chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in March, 2017 after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) landslide victory in state assembly elections. Presently, he is running into his second term as the chief minister.
“Earlier, when I was an MP and I was called here (Ghaziabad) to have Sarso ka Saag with Makka ki Roti, the district was known for gangsters, and even films were produced on this topic. Ghaziabad was identified for ‘Gandagi’ (filth) and gangsters. Gautam Budh Nagar was a “loot ka adda” (den for looters), and it was projected that if any chief minister visited here, he would not be able to become one again. Hearing this, I decided and said that I would go there for sure. Even after visiting, I became the chief minister again. It was misinformation that was spread by looters,” said Adityanath.
He said that UP now has the best infrastructure with a host of expressways, highways, railways, and Metro and RRTS networks.
“Ghaziabad is now known as an industrial and educational hub. Before 2018, people from UP had to hide their identity and used to say that they are from some different states. Now, when they move out, people have a shine on their faces saying that they have come from UP,” he added further.
Adityanath also said that India ranked 11th in terms of economic growth, and it is now ranked fourth after Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister in 2014.
“Bharat is emerging and expected to become the third largest economy in the coming time. From 1947 to 2014, only 17-19 percent of people benefited in the social sector from government schemes. However, from 2014 to 2025, we now have about 70 percent people getting benefitted with facilities like ration, Ayushman Yojna, Ujjwala Yojna, and other schemes,” Adityanath said.
The chief minister said that suggestions were invited from people for planning the development and growth in 12 sectors, including healthcare, education, tourism, the service sector, and IT, among others.
He said that those giving the three best suggestions from every district will get facilitated at the district level, while, overall, those providing the best five suggestions from the state will be facilitated in Lucknow.
Reacting to Adityanath’s statements, Congress district president Satish Sharma said that development efforts during the period 1947 to 2014 cannot be ignored.
“If the chief minister claims that growth happened only after 2014, he is discrediting and disrespecting all efforts. Further, there is no control on crime in UP. Dalits, OBCs, among others are targeted easily. The BJP and its leaders always criticise the opposition parties while hiding their own work. They, in fact, have nothing to show. A huge amount of funds would have been spent in Ghaziabad for the chief minister’s visit, who arrived only for the launch of a book,” Sharma said.
“The infrastructure condition in UP and Ghaziabad is at its worst, and no one is taking note. The BJP was voted to power to show their results and not to criticise the previous government. They have nothing to show. Major Metro projects and expressways in UP were conceived during the Samajwadi Party regime, and our schemes for youth and students were withdrawn. This government is just relying on event management and ignoring the real issues faced by people,” said Faizal Hussain, district president of the Samajwadi Party.