UP minister calls BJP leaders Modi’s ‘najayaz aulad’

Singh is an MLA from Jamania constituency in Ghazipur district, while MoS Railways Manoj Sinha represents Ghazipur in Lok Sabha.

Singh alleged that the Ministry of Tourism did not release a single penny for 2014-15 and funding for projects sanctioned in past two years have also been stopped. “I had personally met Mahesh Sharma and senior officials. All I got was assurance. Development is their responsibility too,” he said.

The UP minister has now decided to write a letter to every MP from Uttar Pradesh, explaining the apathy of the Modi government. “Let these people also raise the issue or give me the reason for stopping funding,” he said.

As per papers from UP’s Tourism Department, a total of 10 projects for Rs 37.37 crore were approved in 2012-13 during the previous UPA regime. The projects also included development of Faizabad-Ayodhya as a special tourist circuit. However, the Centre released only Rs 19.64 crore as the first instalment for these projects.

In 2013-14, 22 projects for Rs 115.94 crore were approved and Rs 10.21 crore was released, which includes Rs 5 lakh for basic tourist facilities at Varanasi Ghats. “They were approved during the UPA regime. When Modi became PM, he released only Rs 5 lakh for Varanasi against the project of Rs 17.77 crore. It is not possible to start any project with such a funding,” Singh stated. Of the 22 projects, 10 projects got only Rs 5 lakh, while two of them were given only Rs 1 lakh each.