Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Sunday, explained the reasoning behind the saffron party choosing Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. At a function in UP, he said, PTI reported, "No one thought Yogiji will be CM. He had no experience in administration but our aim was dedication and loyalty, and parishram ki shamta [potential to work hard], and the BJP handed over the reins to Yogi Adityanath, that decision was right and he has made it right," Shah said. "Many people called me, saying 'Yogi has never even run a municipality, why are you making him CM'. It's true, he had not run even a municipality. He was a temple head," he said, reported NDTV.
Lauding Adityanath for bringing several changes for the development of the state, Shah said,"The Yogi government has removed the biggest hurdle in development by improving the law and order situation in the last two years."
"Development is not possible till the law and order situation is bad. I don't want to take the names of any government but the administration here had been badly politicised. But, now, under the present dispensation, the administration has been made janata ka sewak [servant of the people] in the real sense," he said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last week had said Uttar Pradesh has the potential to become a $1 trillion economy and though it's a big target, it's not impossible to achieve as the state has the requisite resources and manpower.
Citing that there had been an increase in allocation of funds to the state by the 14th Finance Commission, Shah assured investors that "along with the state government, the Centre is also committed to the development of Uttar Pradesh".
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees dreams with open eyes and such people do not sleep till they realise them," he said.
Shah said he has heard that the path to become prime minister passes through Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, the path of India to become a $5 trillion economy also passes through the state, the he said.
-Inputs from PTI