Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said Uttar Pradesh will emerge as a prosperous state in the next three years by eradicating poverty and his government will make the state's economy number one in the country.

Addressing an event here, the chief minister also attacked previous governments, saying they encouraged "one district, one mafia" while the BJP government has replaced it with "one district, one medical college".

Adityanath is in Maharajganj for the inauguration of the Rohin Barrage. He will also lay the foundation stones of and inaugurate 629 developmental projects worth Rs 654, according to the state government.

"In the next three years, Uttar Pradesh will be established as a prosperous state by eradicating poverty. We will make Uttar Pradesh the number one economy in the country by achieving the target of zero poverty," he said.

"Uttar Pradesh is no longer a BIMARU state. Maharajganj is no longer a backward district," he said.

The acronym 'BIMARU' (sick) was coined by demographer Ashish Bose in the mid-1980s, formed from the first letters of names of some of the country's then poorest states -- Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

"Earlier governments used to encourage 'one district, one mafia'. We have replaced their mafia with 'one district, one medical college'," Adityanath told the gathering.

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