‘I don’t think small, I harbour big dreams’: PM Modi at inauguration of Dwarka expressway’s Haryana section

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh were present at the event.

PM Modi recollected Gurgaon’s transition from an unsafe area to the fastest-growing city in the NCR. “This expressway would help access the (Delhi) airport better. It would integrate the NCR better and boost the economy. When this joins the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, it will start a new chapter,” he added.

He also recalled his earlier days with the Haryana CM, when he used to ride a pillion on Khattar’s motorcycle. “We would leave Rohtak for Gurgaon and I remember that it was difficult to go on that road. Aaj mujhe khush ho rahi hai, hum bhi saath hai, aapke bhavishy bhi saath hai,” he said.

“I don’t think small, I don’t harbour small dreams, I don’t make small plans. I harbour big dreams. Mujhe jo bhi karna hai, virat chahiye, vishal chahiye, tez gati se chahiye. I want to see India become developed in 2047,” he said.

The PM also hit out at the Opposition alliance and said if someone suffers under this government project, it’s the Congress and their arrogant alliance. “… There is so much development; when they talk of one project, Modi does 10. They can’t comprehend how quickly we get the work done. This is why they say Modi is doing work worth crores for polls. In 10 years, the country has transformed, but the glasses of Congress and its alliance have not changed. The power of their glasses is the same, all negative…”

“They used to run the government on poll promises. In 2006, under the national highway development project, they announced a 1,000-km expressway.. The Eastern Peripheral Expressway was discussed in 2008, but we completed it in 2018. Dwarka Expressway and Urban Extension Road were also stuck for 20 years, but our double-engine government completed the work,” Modi said.

“Pehle delay hote the, ab delivery hoti hai. Pehle vilamb hota tha, ab vikas hota hai (Earlier, there were delays, now there is delivery and development),” PM Modi said.

“We are planning a high-speed corridor of 9,000 km, and 4,000 km of this is already done. Till 2014, only five cities had Metro services; now, 21 cities have Metro services. There is long planning and round-the-clock work. This work gets done when the intention is right. In the next five years, progress will be even faster,” he added.

Modi also commended Khattar, saying he was working towards realising the vision of a Vikist Haryana-Viksit Bharat. Speaking on the “double-engine government”, Modi lauded the Khattar-led government’s approach and said the future of Haryana is safe under his leadership.

Speaking on the occasion, Khattar said while the government has paid attention to infrastructural development, it has also revived cultural and religious heritage: “Haryana was known for its skewed sex ratio and the national campaign of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao started from Haryana. Today, four major developmental projects are being initiated in Haryana,” he said.

Gadkari said it was a very important day on the journey to make India a 5-trillion-dollar economy. “The government is constructing world-class highways to make India a superpower. Earlier, we aimed at making India’s infrastructure on par with that of the USA. Recently, a few people from the US told me our highways were better than theirs,” he said.

He added that in three months, the government will inaugurate the Urban Extension Road-2 (UER-2) as well. This will ensure that people coming to Delhi from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, and Jammu and Kashmir to Delhi IGI Airport do not have to wait for hours stuck the traffic jams within Delhi.