?Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday unveiled a 12-foot-tall statue of Lord Laxman near the Lucknow airport besides inaugurating other projects.

Speaking on the occasion, Singh, who represents Lucknow in Lok Sabha, said he is working to make the dreams of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee come true. Vajpayee had also represented Lucknow in the Lower House of Parliament.

The Union minister said that the tight law and order system of Uttar Pradesh is the biggest reason for development in the state.

This is discussed not only in India but also among Indians settled abroad. There is a discussion about ease of doing business, Singh said.

The chief minister said that the whole world will see a new story of Uttar Pradesh's development on Friday at the Global Investors Summit-2023 which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Within the state, there are innumerable investment opportunities, he said.?

Today, Uttar Pradesh is moving forward at a fast pace in terms development and? is now known as an excellent investment and tourism destination with expressway connectivity, Adityanath said.?

The speed with which farmers and youth have accelerated development has established the state as "New Uttar Pradesh of New India", he said.

Besides the unveiling of the grand statue of Laxman near airport, an elevated flyover from Shaheed Path to the airport, beautification project of development projects related to G-20 and Global Investors Summit, and Kargil Victory Memorial were also unveiled.

In another development, BJP MP Sangamlal Gupta wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi seeking that Lucknow be renamed as "Lakhanpur or Laxmanpur". He said that the city was given its current name in the 18th century by Nawab Asafuddaula.

The Pratapgarh MP claimed Lord Ram had given the city to his brother Laxman and it was known as 'Lakhanpur' or 'Laxmanpur' earlier.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak had also said that? it is well known that Lucknow was earlier known as 'Laxman Nagri' and the state government will move forward "according to the situation".