On a day visit to Surat on Sunday, Lok SABHA Speaker Om Birla described the city as a “mini Bharat” (India) built by migrant labourers.
While interacting with the media, Birla said, “The lakhs of labourers living here have created a mini Bharat here.”
“People from different cultures come here for jobs and business. Here they get a good environment, good wages and everyone thinks of this city as theirs. Everyone here progresses economically. Because of the job opportunities available here there has been socio-economic development,” he added.
He was accorded a “warm civic reception” during his visit, according to a press release.
The Speaker’s visit comes a day before the three-day Smart City, Smart Urbanisation conference, which will be hosted here by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and attended by several union ministers.