Development of Amethi my top priority: Smriti Irani

Lucknow : Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani on Friday said that development of Amethi, from where she unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, tops her priorities.

The Minister said she "will ensure development and prosperity in this high-profile constituency whether she is around or not".

Arriving in the Gandhi pocket borough on a two-day visit, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also laid the foundation stones for many developmental projects and said that people of Amethi would reap the benefits of these projects in times to come.

Accompanied by three senior ministers of Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath government -- Surya Pratap Shahi, Ashutosh Tandon and Suresh Pasi, Irani exhorted people to take benefit of various schemes in agriculture, skill development and health, rolled out by the Central and state governments.

Inaugurating a health camp at the district hospital premises in Gauriganj, the Minister said for the next 20 years, camps like this would continue to be held in Amethi by the Baba Bhaurao Deoras Sansthan and the King George's Medical University (KGMU) of Lucknow. 

She reiterated her commitment to the people of Amethi and said the bond she established with Amethi four years back would continue for the rest of her life.

"The relationship between you and me is important for me and I am doing all that is possible to be true to this bond," she said.

Irani urged the people to ensure that the entire district became open defecation free (ODF) at the earliest.

She also conducted the ground breaking ceremony and the foundation stone laying of the Agriculture Science Centre at Kathaura in Jagdishpur where she detailed many initiatives of the Narendra Modi government for the welfare and prosperity of the farmers.