Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex at Delhi's Pragati Maidan and unveiled its new name --Bharat Mandapam. Addressing the crowd gathered at the redeveloped India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) complex which is set to be the location for the upcoming G20 Summit in September this year, PM Modi called 'Bharat Mandapam a "beautiful gift to our democracy" while slamming "negative thinkers" for attempting to stall development in the country.
The world will now witness the "rising stature of India" when the revamped site hosts the global summit, Modi said unveiling the convention centre in the heart of the national capital.
"Think big, dream big, act big," the prime minister urged as he addressed the gathering at the inaugural ceremony. "This 'Bharat Mandapam' is a gift for the country as we celebrate 75 years of Independence," Modi said, slamming those who speak negatively to try and stall development projects in the country.
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He also recited a poem, flew a drone and released commemorative stamps and coins during the inauguration. Modi also announced that Delhi will soon get world's largest museum, called 'Yuge Yugeen Bharat'.
Nearly 3,000 guests including Cabinet ministers, captains of industry, film personalities and others have gathered at the inaugural ceremony of the IECC complex in the national capital. Earlier in the day, Modi performed "pooja" at the redeveloped complex and interacted with the workers who were involved in the construction of the complex and felicitated them.
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Using the event as a stage to make a clarion call for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi laid bare his blueprint for a third term of his government.
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"In my third term, India will proudly be among the top three economies of the world. Yeh Modi ki guarantee hai (This is Modi's guarantee)," he said, adding that India's growth will be even faster in BJP's third term.
Reeling out statistics of development from the number of airports to railway line electrification to expansion of city gas during his nine-year tenure, Modi said India was the 10th largest economy when the BJP government took office in 2014. He said that nearly Rs 34 lakh crore have been spent on infrastructure development in the last nine years of the BJP-led NDA government. A total of 40,000 km of rail lines have been electrified during the NDA tenure, compared to 20,000 km in the previous 70 years, he added.
"We have a target for the next 25 years; we are moving with a dream to make India a developed nation," PM Modi said.
The general elections are due in May next year.
The Prime Minister took a swipe at opposition parties and others for criticising the government's developmental efforts, calling them "negative thinkers". Just like privately accepting the grandeur of Kartvya Path, the 'toli' of negative thinkers will one day acknowledge Bharat Mandapam also, he said. "India's development journey is not going to stop."
The IECC complex has been developed as a national project at a cost of about Rs 2,700 crore and has a campus area of approximately 123 acres. It is India's largest MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) destination. In terms of the covered space available for events, the complex finds its place among the top exhibition and convention complexes in the world.
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It comprises multiple modern facilities, including convention centres, exhibition halls and amphitheatres.
