VARANASI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed Uttar Pradesh for Telangana early on Saturday after concluding a whirlwind visit during which he took part in several programmes and addressed public rallies in Gorakhpur and Varanasi.
The prime minister spent the night in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency.
Modi arrived in Uttar Pradesh on Friday after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of eight projects worth around Rs 7,600 crore in Chhattisgarh.
Modi said in a tweet, "Leaving for Warangal (Telangana) to attend a programme where we will inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for development works worth over Rs 6,100 crore. These works cover different sectors ranging from highways to railways. They will benefit the people of Telangana."
From Telangana, the prime minister will travel to Rajasthan where he will address a rally in Naurangdesar in Bikaner district.
Modi will also lay the foundation stones and inaugurate projects worth more than Rs 2,500 crore during the programme, according to the state's BJP unit.
On Friday, addressing a public rally in Varanasi, Modi said the beneficiaries of welfare schemes today are examples of social justice and "real secularism", as he slammed the previous regimes for coming up with their schemes while "sitting in air-conditioned rooms".
The earlier schemes were meant for a select few and the past governments did not seek feedback from the ground, he had said.
"Ensuring self-respect for the poor is a Modi guarantee," the prime minister had added. Varanasi was the second stop on Modi's trip to Uttar Pradesh.
In Gorakhpur, he addressed the closing ceremony of the centenary celebrations of Gita Press -- the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious textbooks. He also flagged off two new Vande Bharat trains at Gorakhpur station.
While at the Gorakhpur event, he talked about combining development with respect for the country's heritage, the focus was on welfare schemes in Varanasi.
Development projects were unveiled at both places. Varanasi's 29 new projects are worth Rs 12,100 crore.
Modi also held a "tiffin meeting" with BJP workers and leaders in Varanasi and encouraged them to ensure that the party wins the next year's general elections by a huge margin.
The "tiffin meeting" is part of the BJP's mega public outreach with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Apart from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, around 120 people, including BJP office-bearers, workers and public representatives, attended the meeting. Sources said Modi asked the councillors to continuously work among the public.
During the interaction, he also enquired about the well-being of the party workers, they said.
While the BJP leaders and workers brought their own tiffins to the meeting, the food for the prime minister was prepared in the kitchen of Bareka Guest House.
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