PM Modi says previous govts made schemes in AC rooms, didn’t see ground reality

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hit out at previous governments, alleging that they didn’t do anything for the self-respect of the poor and made schemes from air-conditioned rooms without seeing the ground reality.

By contrast, his government made schemes for the deprived by taking feedback from the ground, he said and described the beneficiaries of welfare schemes today as “examples of social justice and true secularism”.

Besides welfare schemes, he highlighted that the country was combining development (vikas) with heritage (virasat) and emphasised that India was establishing new records in digital technology and, at the same time, the dream of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya was being realised after centuries. The Prime Minister was speaking at programmes in Gorakhpur and his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, less than a year before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In Gorakhpur, he attended the closing ceremony of the Gita Press centenary celebrations and in Varanasi he gifted 29 developmental schemes worth ₹12,110 crore to the district. He also flagged off the Gorakhpur –Lucknow (via Ayodhya) and the Sabarmati-Jodhpur Vande Bharat Express trains, besides laying the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the Gorakhpur railway station. Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel and chief minister Yogi Adityanath were present at the Gorakhpur and Varanasi events.

Addressing a rally in Varanasi’s Wazidpur village, Modi said the previous government’s schemes didn’t make impact on the ground and the poor didn’t benefit. The prime minister said previously the welfare schemes were meant to help “one family and one generation”. But his government keeps in mind the benefit of the future generations as well, he said. “We have not made plans for just one family and one generation, but have worked keeping in mind that the future of coming generations,” he added.

Earlier, newspapers used to be filled with reports of black-marketing and corruption, but now they were full of stories of development and infrastructure projects being inaugurated daily, he emphasised.

In Gorakhpur, lauding the contribution of Gita Press, Modi said, “Gita Press is the only printing press in the country that is not merely an institution but a living faith. For the people, the office of Gita Press is like a temple. Where there is Gita, there is Krishna, and where there is Krishna there is compassion.”

Emphasising on getting rid of the slavery mentality and having pride in traditions, he said, “After 75 years of independence, we were carrying the symbol of slavery on the flag of our Navy. We continued with British traditions after independence. Now, with full confidence, we started to change it. We are giving a respectable place to our heritage and ideals. The insignia of Chhatrapati Shivaji has been put on the flag of the Indian Navy.”

Later, in Varanasi, Modi said the political parties, which ran corrupt and unsuccessful governments, now get irritated with the names of welfare scheme beneficiaries as they didn’t care for the poor. Asserting that his government ended corruption, he said, “In the tenure of the BJP government, beneficiary class has become an example of true social justice and true secularism.”

After so many years of independence, the true benefits of democracy have now truly reached the right people, he said.

Comparing development of rail infrastructure, Modi said that the Rajdhani Express was inducted 50 years ago but could run only on 16 routes in these many years and Shatabdi Express, which was introduced around 35 years ago, could run on 19 routes. But the Vande Bharat Express has started running on 25 routes in four years and the first was run from Varanasi, he said. Soon, Vande Bharat trains will connect one corner of the country to another, he said.

He said it was the people of Kashi who made the Kashi Vishwanath Dham grand and beautiful and he was just a medium for it. “People from every corner of the country and world are coming to Kashi. They also visit Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The number of tourists has increased manifold in Kashi which has benefitted everyone in Kashi,” he said. He said that with the blessings of Baba Kashi Vishwanath, the speedy development of Kashi will continue.

“Today, we are building world-class infrastructure and developing pilgrim spots like Kashi Dham, Kedarnath, Badrinath and Mahakal temple. We will develop a new India and make our motto of the welfare of humanity successful,” he said.

The Prime Minister also interacted with beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat and PM SVANidhi schemes.

The Prime Minister distributed the loans of PMSvanidhi, keys of PMAY Rural houses and Ayushman Bharat cards to the beneficiaries. Around 35 lakh beneficiaries have benefitted from the PM Svanidhi Scheme.