Updated on: 20 January 2023 04:46 PM IST | Mumbai
Jennifer Nadar | news@debotimes.in

Since independence, PM Modi said, India is for the first time able to dream big and at the same time fulfill those big dreams. “The country is developing fast. On the one side sectors like housing and health are developing fast, while on the other side, we have also focused on regional connectivity.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India is fast changing with futuristic thinking and a modern approach by virtue of spending on both physical and social infrastructure in the country.

The Prime Minister was speaking at a public function in Bandra Kurla Complex where, giving a push to the infrastructure, urban travel, and healthcare sectors, he inaugurated and laid foundation stones of development projects worth more than Rs 38,000 crore including Mumbai Metro’s two new lines.

Since independence, PM Modi said, India is for the first time able to dream big and at the same time fulfill those big dreams. “The country is developing fast. On the one side sectors like housing and health are developing fast, while on the other side, we have also focused on regional connectivity.”

He said that the last century was spent discussing poverty and seeking help from the world. It is for the first time, the world trusts India's resolutions. The Prime Minister said that there are positive sentiments about the country across the world because the world has recognized that India is putting its might to good use.

“The world feels India is developing rapidly into a prosperous country. Today, India is full of unprecedented confidence. With the inspiration of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, sense of 'swaraj' & 'Suraj' reflects on double-engine govt of today's India,” he said.

Taking a dig at the former UPA government, the premier said that the country previously had to deal with corruption and scams only. He said that the money for the welfare of the poor was corrupted. Tax paid was being looted. But, that is changing now, he said. “In the last 8 years of our government, we have changed this approach.”

After launching the developmental projects, the prime minister said that these will help Mumbai improve its standard of living and transform the city. Although Mumbai’s development slowed down for a while,, he said, the double-engine government has changed the momentum. The prime minister said that several cities across India are going to power the growth story of India. Therefore, he said, "making Mumbai future-ready is one of the commitments of the double-engine government."

The PM’s visit comes ahead of civic polls in Mumbai, where the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will seek to showcase these ventures to take on the political rivals.

Earlier, Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis targeted the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction and the MVA government.
In his speech, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state has started walking rapidly on the path to development since the day the double-engine government is back in office.

Fadnavis while addressing the PM, said, “In 2019, you said that the double-engine government had changed Maharashtra and asked the government be brought back to power.” Trusting you, he said, people have brought back the government. “But some people indulged in foul play and for 2.5 years, there was a government that the people did not like.”

Lauding the incumbent chief minister, Eknath Shinde, Fadnavis said, “the true follower of Balasaheb Thackeray, Eknath Shinde showed courage and with your (Prime Minister’s) blessings, a government of the liking of the people is in power once again.” Modi is the only PM who inaugurated projects whose groundbreaking ceremony he had performed, Fadnavis said, adding this reflects the beginning of a new culture.

Chief Minister Shinde said development took a backseat during the tenure of the MVA administration (November 2019-June 2022). ''We were able to free the people of Mumbai from suffocation under the MVA rule because of Modiji's leadership,'' said the CM.
The CM said his government will transform Mumbai in the next three years and give a new identity to India's financial capital and also Maharashtra. Let's pledge to create a new Maharashtra under Modi's leadership, he said.