Mumbai (Maharashtra): Lauding the 'respect' for the labour force under the Bharatiya Janata Party government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath compared how Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured the construction workers who worked at the Ram Mandir in Agra, and how the hands of workers behind Taj Mahal were "chopped off."
The UP Chief Minister was addressing the annual conference of the World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF) here in Mumbai.
"You would have seen how on 22nd January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was giving respect to the workers who constructed the Ram Mandir. That is one side where the PM was raining flowers on them, but on the other hand, the situation before was such that the workers who constructed the Taj Mahal had their hands chopped off," CM Yogi said in his address on Saturday.
He also mentioned that workers in the fine cloth industry in history also had their hands chopped off, destroying a whole tradition and legacy.
"Today, India respects its labour force, gives them all kinds of protections. On the other hand, there were rulers, who chopped off the hands of labourers and destroyed the legacy of fine cloth, destroyed the tradition completely," the UP CM said.
Talking about India's historical contribution to the world's economy between the first and fifteenth century, CM Yogi said, "From the first century to the 15th century, even scholars associated with Europe accept that at that time India's share in the world economy was more than 40 per cent, and that was the situation continuously till 15th century."
The 'World Hindu Economic Forum' kickstarted on December 13 and will go on till today (December 15) at the Jio World Convention Center at BKC in Mumbai.
Speaking further, the UP CM lauded Prime Minister Modi for bringing India out of the 'identity crisis'. He
"Today, those who are encouraging and nurturing terrorism today...These people claim our heritage when they were nowhere to be seen, even their seeds had not sprouted, even then our heritage was there," he said.
He added, "Before 2014, India was facing an identity crisis... We are grateful to the respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in the last 10 years has rescued India from the demonic rigidities and has shown us the vision of a 'New India'." (ANI)