Defence Minister and CM unveil statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Lucknow : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath unveiled the statue of ‘Bharat Ratna’ and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji at Kudiya Ghat, situated along the banks of the Gomti River in Lucknow. The leaders also honored the sculptor, Amarpal Singh, for his remarkable work. On this occasion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh led the gathering in taking the ‘Atal Sankalp’ pledge.

The welcome address was given by MLA Neeraj Bora. During this, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, BJP State President Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Dinesh Sharma, Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, Rajya Sabha MP Brijlal, Legislative Council Member Mukesh Sharma, Lalji Prasad Nirmal, Pawan Singh Chauhan, former Minister Mohsin Raza etc. were present.

Exhibition showcases Atal Ji’s historic decisions and development efforts

Lucknow : On the 100th birth anniversary of ‘Bharat Ratna’ former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated a special exhibition at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state office. During the event, he paid floral tribute to Atal Ji’s portrait, honoring his unique personality and contributions to the nation.

The exhibition showcases Atal Ji’s remarkable political journey, presenting his life from student days to his tenure as Prime Minister in a well-structured sequence.

It highlights the historic decisions he made, his significant efforts for India’s development and prosperity, and his unwavering patriotism, service, and indomitable courage.

The display vividly depicts his multi-faceted personality and nation-building contributions, emphasizing his visionary thinking that gave India a distinct identity on the global stage.

CM Yogi revisited cherished memories of Atal Ji while observing the exhibition and was photographed alongside a cutout of the ‘Bharat Ratna’ awardee.

Prominent leaders, including State BJP President Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, General Secretary (Organization) Dharampal, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, Minister of State Baldev Singh Aulakh, and others, were present on the occasion. All paid floral tributes to the portrait of Atal Ji, honoring his enduring legacy.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and CM Yogi Adityanath participate in the birth centenary celebrations of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Lucknow : Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath emphasized on Wednesday that a sense of security is crucial for effective governance, and achieving it requires active public participation.

Speaking at the birth centenary celebrations of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee alongside Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the Chief Minister remarked, “A sense of security begins within the home. When individuals feel safe at home, it naturally fosters a sense of security within the community.”

He further stated that the government maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards crime, criminals, corruption, and corrupt practices. “Inspired by Atal Ji and Prime Minister Modi, the government has upheld this zero-tolerance approach on security issues since day one, and the results are evident to all,” he said.

Public representatives, including the Defence Minister and Chief Minister, paid floral tributes to the statue of the former Prime Minister at Lok Bhavan. The Chief Minister also extended greetings on the birth anniversary of Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya and on Christmas. During the event, student Sneha Tiwari recited a poem, and winners of various competitions were felicitated by the Defence Minister and Chief Minister.

Highlighting Atal Ji’s significant contributions to good governance, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “Atal Ji laid a strong foundation for governance during his tenure. His words, ‘Aadmi ko chahiye ki wah joojhe, paristhitiyon se lade, ek swapn toote to doosra gadhe… Ek paanv dharti par rakhkar hi Vaman Bhagwan ne aakash-paatal ko jeeta tha, dharti hi dhaaran karti hai, koi us par bhaar na bane, mithya-abhimaan se na tane…’ continue to inspire us.”

The Chief Minister emphasized that the groundwork laid by Atal Ji for the development of India is being furthered under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The vision established by Atal Ji is now being realized through the creation of a new India—an India that will fulfill the aspirations of 140 crore people and emerge as a developed nation by 2047,” he remarked.

The CM also noted the significance of the day, explaining that from this point forward, the days will become longer, symbolizing increased energy and visibility from the Sun. He added, “With inspiration from PM Modi, it was decided to commemorate Atal Ji’s birth anniversary as Good Governance Day across the country. In this centenary year of Atal Ji, Good Governance Week included poetry recitations, essays, and speech competitions on good governance for children in every district.”

The Chief Minister further directed the Secretariat Administration and Higher Education Department to compile and publish souvenirs and magazines on good governance across the state. He emphasized that exceptional articles should be curated at the state level and made available in various libraries to inspire others.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlighted the active participation of various government departments during Good Governance Week. He stated that Uttar Pradesh led the nation in addressing public grievances, successfully resolving over 2.59 lakh complaints. Additionally, 16,223 workshops were conducted across headquarters, divisions, and tehsil levels, and more than 9.68 lakh service delivery applications were addressed.

He added: During this, people were also made aware of programs based on ease of doing business, Mission Karmayogi, AI and machine learning in good governance, cyber security, the importance of the right to information, utility related to the scheme of Janhit Guarantee for providing timely services to the citizens, Gem portal in government purchases and sales, Manav Sampada portal.

The event witnessed the presence of Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, BJP state president Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh, organization general secretary Dharam Pal, Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Dinesh Sharma, and state government ministers including Dinesh Pratap Singh and Baldev Singh Aulakh. Other notable attendees included Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, MLAs Neeraj Bora, Yogesh Shukla, Surendra Maithani, OP Srivastava, Amresh Kumar, Legislative Council member Pawan Singh Chauhan, Lalji Prasad Nirmal, and former Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia.

Defence Minister and Chief Minister honor winners of competitions

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath felicitated the winners of competitions held during Good Governance Week (December 19–25). In the poetry recitation competition, Sneha Tiwari secured first place, followed by Shambhavi Shukla in second place and Vidushi Mishra in third. In the speech competition, Mohd. Firoz clinched the top spot, with Mrinal Dixit in second and Mahi Vajpayee in third. Supriya Dixit emerged as the winner of the essay competition (for classes 9–12), while Harshita Singh and Sakshi Pandey secured second and third places, respectively.

Under the Swachh Sachivalaya Abhiyan, ‘Uttam Anubhag’ was recognized by the Secretariat Administration Department, with Section Officer Ambrish Kumar Yadav of the Irrigation and Water Resources Department receiving the award. Lok Bhawan’s Administration Officer, Mohit Agarwal, was honored for Uttam and Swachh Bhawan.

Principal Secretary of the Agriculture Department, Ravindra Ji, and Special Secretary of the Information Technology and Electronics Department, Neha Jain, were awarded certificates for achieving 100% quality resolution of complaints and service delivery applications.