The satellite town of Noida is not jinxed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, rubbishing the “superstition” that Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers have lost their seat whenever they visited the urban hub close to Delhi and praised Yogi Adityanath for “rising above” it.

Modi after inaugurating the Noida-Kalkaji Metro line along with Chief Minister Adityanath addressed a public rally near Amity University here.

He said when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat he was told about a few places where no Chief Ministers go “because they were inauspicious”.

“I was clear…I would go to all those places in my first year itself. Driven by blind faith and superstition, leaders never went to places for decades. How unfortunate is that,” he said.

“If anybody thinks not going to a place will prolong their Chief Minister tenure and visiting a place will curtail it, such a person does not deserve to be a Chief Minister,” he said, referring to the Noida jinx.

“Unfortunately, there were superstitions associated with Noida and in his own style, Yogi Adityanath has risen above these superstitions and come to Noida,” Modi said. Former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party is known not to have visited Noida during his five-year tenure.

Modi praised monk-politician Adityanath for blending tradition with modernity in his own style, and focussing on good governance to take the state “to new heights”.

“I am very happy. Due to his saffron attire, few people find it fashionable to believe that Yogi Adityanath is not ‘modern enough’ but it is Yogi Adityanathji who has done what Chief Minister of UP did not do – he has come to Noida. Faith is important but blind faith is not desirable.”

He said the BJP had taken decisions in national interest which would always be given preference over political gains. “Governance cannot happen when the dominant thought process begins at ‘mera kya’ and ends at ‘mujhe kya’. We have changed these mindsets. For us, decisions are about national interest and not political gains.”

Modi said his government was focussing on expanding infrastructure development in India and “work on railway infrastructure, expanding road network is happening at a historic pace under the tenure of our government at the Centre”.

Earlier, Modi threw open the 12.6-km Kalkaji-Botanical Garden Magenta Line of the metro track the connects south Delhi with Noida.

Modi flagged off the new metro, decked with marigold flowers, from Noida and took a ride on the train to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary station along with Adityanath.

Also read: PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Delhi Metro’s Magenta line

In his speech, Modi remembered former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 93rd birthday “who gave us the vision to walk on the path of development”.

“Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji is the ‘Bharat Marg Vidhata.’ He has shown us the way towards development. He focussed on futuristic road infrastructure.

“I convey my greetings on the occasion of Christmas. Today we mark the birthdays of two Bharat Ratnas. One is Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and the second, Atalji. It is due to the people of Uttar Pradesh that the nation has got a strong and stable Government. I will always remain grateful to UP for their affection.”

In his address, Adityanath said the new metro line would prove to be a milestone towards realizing the dreams of development for Noida and Greater Noida region.

“Today is Christmas and it is also the birthday of Vajpayeeji, I thank the PM for giving Uttar Pradesh the offering of this new metro line on this occasion. We are going to bring new metro lines in Kanpur and Agra.”

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party was not invited to the inauguration.

Also read: All you need to know about Delhi Metro’s new Magenta Line