Indore, April 20 -- Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his blessings to make Madhya Pradesh a 'cheetah state' from being a 'tiger state'.

He said that the successful rehabilitation of cheetahs shows that the state's environment is suitable for the species.

"PM Modi gave us the blessings to convert our 'tiger state' into 'cheetah state'... Cheetahs have been able to survive in our (MP's) environment. There have been a lot of states where cheetahs became extinct, but today, they have been rehabilitated here. Two cheetahs have been released in the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a big effort to restore the ecosystem," CM Yadav said.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister ...