Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Wednesday underscored the spirit of national unity and cooperative federalism, asserting that political rivalry or differences of opinion between states should not overshadow the larger national interest.

He added that there may be political differences between states, but from the nation's perspective, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are equally important; the country is one.

While addressing a press conference in Bhopal, Yadav said, "These are the things, but the fundamental point is that, politically, there may be rivalry and differences of opinion between the states, but from the country's perspective, Tamil Nadu is just as important to us as Kerala. Regarding development issues between states, this PRAGATI portal addresses fundamental requirements, such as the use of underground resources in the country's best interests... Whichever state it may be, the country is one."

Drawing attention to major river-linking initiatives, Yadav said the Ken-Betwa project, initiated during former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure, gained momentum after receiving focused attention under PM Modi.

"This is similar to the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project. It was underway during Atal Ji's time, but it gradually progressed and eventually caught PM Modi's attention. However, in this very project, we realised that there's an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore, of which Rs 50,000 crore is being provided by the Government of India. Our contribution is only 5%, and if the engineers plan properly, a lot of the work will be completed automatically. Similarly, the PKC project, the Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal project, has been ongoing in Rajasthan for 20 years, and, interestingly, its monitoring is also conducted there. If there's even a slight delay in submitting a document, it becomes a topic of discussion," he added.

The Chief Minister further said that the working culture between the Centre and states has undergone a significant change. "Today, when we go to meet the Prime Minister or the Home Minister, they first inquire about our projects and their status before we even get to our courtesy meeting. This is a time of change, and based on this, I firmly believe that we are living in an extraordinary era," CM Yadav added.

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Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday hailed the PRAGATI portal, technology-driven governance and inter-agency problem-solving, highlighting the state's massive infrastructure push, with 330 projects worth ₹10.48 lakh crore underway.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on the progress of infrastructure projects being monitored through the PRAGATI portal, he highlighted the state's transition from "bottleneck" to "facilitator" and "accelerator."