PM Modi on Tuesday, targetted the previous Samajwadi party govt for ignoring the eastern area of the state at the launch of the Purvanchal Expressway.PM Modi lashed at the UPA govt for ignoring defence infrastructure for decades. Making a scatching remark, on the SP Congress combine, he added, "I used to be surprised by the situation 7-8 yrs back. I used to wonder why some people were punishing UP? Previously both in Delhi and Lucknow, nepotism was only seen. But in 2014, by giving a thumping majority, you gave Yogi ji and Modi ji a chance to serve you both together and see the development work being done in UP today".
The Purvanchal Expressway, which stretches over 340 kilometres, will cut the time it takes to drive from Lucknow to Ghazipur from 6 hours to 3.5 hours. Purvanchal Expressway begins in village Chaudsarai, district Lucknow, on the Lucknow-Sultanpur route (NH-731) and finishes in hamlet Hydaria, 18 kilometres east of the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border, on National Highway number 31.Dedicating the Purvanchal Expressway to the people, PM Modi recalled how three years ago, the stretch of land he was now on used to be barren. "Now it has this expressway. Never thought one day I will land on this expressway. It is a symbol of UP's 'vikas'," he said.