Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused the Congress of always trying to weaken the institution of the judiciary and other democratic institutions. Addressing a public meeting at Andawa in Prayagraj this evening, Mr Modi charged the party with weakening each and every institution that refused to toe its line.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several developmental projects worth more than 4500 crores in Prayagraj. The projects are mainly related to infrastructure, connectivity, pilgrim amenities and sewerage systems. He also inaugurated a state-of-the-art Command and Control Centre for the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. He performed Ganga Pujan and also visited the Swachh Kumbh exhibition.

He also dedicated to the nation various development projects to clean the Ganges and Ghats ahead of the Kumbh Mela, which begins on January 15th. Mr Modi said, this time, devotees will be able to visit Akshay Vat in Ardha Kumbh. He said, it was confined in Akshay Vat Fort for generations, but this time every devotee visiting the place will be fortunate to visit Akshay Vat.
 
The Prime Minister said the 2019 Ardh Kumbh of Prayagraj would be a kaleidoscope of Indian culture, tradition, heritage and spirituality for people both from India and abroad. He said people would witness the troika of spiritualism, faith and modernity. Kumbh fair exhibits a right picture of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat. Mr Modi said diversity of language and attire dissolves at Kumbh.

Before returning to Delhi, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the new terminal building of the Bamrauli Airport in Prayagraj.

Earlier in the day, Mr Modi launched several development projects worth over one thousand crore rupees at Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. Mr Modi, who was on a day-long visit to the state, also flagged off the 900th coach and a rake of Humsafar train manufactured at Modern Coach Factory in Rae Bareli. Addressing a public meeting at Lalganj, the Prime Minister said, the factory was sanctioned in 2007 and was built in 2010.

He said, it was supposed to make new coaches but was never allowed to work at its full capacity. Mr Modi said, only three per cent of the machines were working in 2014 but the NDA government has changed the scenario. He said Raebareli factory will be developed as a global hub in the field of rail coach manufacturing.

Mr Modi said, within two to three years, the production of the rail coach factory will touch three thousand annually. He said, his government intends to expand the capacity to 5 thousand coaches per year. The Prime Minister said the factory will produce coach of high-speed trains, metro trains and aluminium coaches.

He said the expansion of coach factory would generate employment opportunities for people. The Prime Minister said, earlier governments neglected the development of Rae Bareli but the Central government is committed to it.

On Rafale deal, Mr Modi accused Congress of spreading lies for personal gains and compromising national security. The Prime Minister said the country will neither forget nor forgive the previous government’s attitude towards the defence forces. He said the central government is trying its best that those who are ready to sacrifice their lives for the country, should not face any difficulty.

Mr Modi also dedicated to the nation 133 kilometres long Raebareli-Fatehpur-Banda section of National Highway. The project has been completed at a cost of about 558 crore rupees. It is an important link between the mining areas of Bundelkhand, pilgrimage centre Chitrakoot, Lucknow and the Purvanchal districts of Uttar Pradesh. The newly widened highway is set to reduce travel time from Banda to Raebareli to two and a half hours from 7-8 hours.