New Delhi/Uttarakhand, Dec 4 (IANS): Launching a scathing attack on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said scams exploded in the name of infrastructure during the ten year rule of the Manmohan Singh government.

Addressing a public gathering in poll-bound Uttarakhand after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 18,000 crore in Dehradun, the Prime Minister accused the Congress of doing politics of appeasement and dividing the country.

He said perversion of politics does not allow people to be strong and makes them dependent on the government for their needs.

Modi claimed that "Whatever schemes we bring, we will bring them for everyone, without discrimination. We do not make vote bank politics the basis but give priority to the service of the people. Our approach has been to strengthen the country."

Targeting the Congress, Modi said: "For 10 years there were scams, scams in the name of infrastructure in the country. We worked twice as hard to make up for the loss caused to the country and are doing it even today."

He heaped praises on his party leader and state Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and also spoke about other veteran BJP leaders in the state.

The Prime Minister said that Uttarakhand is not just the centre of faith but is the symbol of hard work and determination. That is why development of the state is one of the foremost priorities of the 'double engine government' of the Centre and the state.

Comparing the pace of development, the Prime Minister pointed out that between 2007 and 2014, the then Central government (UPA), built only 288 km of national highways in Uttarakhand in seven years, whereas the current (NDA) government has constructed a national highway of more than 2,000 km in the state in seven years.

He charged that the earlier governments did not work on the infrastructure of the border hill areas as seriously as they should have.

The previous governments did nothing on critical issues like One rank, one pension, modern weapons, giving a befitting reply to terrorists that demoralised the Army at every level, he said, adding that "The government which is in place today cannot come under the pressure of any country in the world. We are people who follow the mantra of nation first, always first."

He said the reconstruction of Kedar Dham has not only increased the number of devotees coming for darshan, but also provided many opportunities for employment and self-employment to the people there.

Before the Kedarnath tragedy in 2012, 5,70,000 devotees had darshan, which was a record number, whereas before the start of the corona period, in 2019, more than 10 lakh people had come to visit Kedarnath.