Development in UP only visible in advertisements: Nitin Gadkari

Applauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said his demonetisation move was in favour of the poor.

Sultanpur, Nov 24 Taking a jibe at the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in Uttar Pradesh, Union minister Nitin Gadkari today said development in the state was only visible in "newspaper advertisements".

"Development here can only be seen in the form of advertisements in newspapers...the condition of roads is for everyone to see...we want a government here which actually works...people here have already seen the BSP and the SP," the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways told the gathering at the BJP's 'Parivartan Rally'.

Taking a dig at the opposition parties, Gadkari said although all of them were together in opposing the Centre's demonetisation move in Parliament, they were fighting each other in Uttar Pradesh.

"The poor is not worried over demonetisation. It is only the leaders who are concerned...High value currencies worth Rs 16 lakh crore were printed of which, only Rs 6 lakh crore has come back to the banks...Rs 10 lakh crore is still lying with the big leaders which will become redundant after December 31," he said.

Applauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said his demonetisation move was in favour of the poor.

"He (Modi) comes from a poor family...there has never been any leader in his family and he has worked his way to this position...There are, however, some others who are worried about their families," Gadkari said, claiming that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was worried about getting his son (party vice-president Rahul Gandhi) "a job in politics".

The Union minister said he was laying the foundation stone for the Lucknow-Sultanpur and Sultanpur-Jaunpur four-laning work and upgradation at a cost of over Rs 2,600 crore and claimed that it will last for "200 years".

PTI