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Modi govt pulled 25 crore people out of poverty: Rajnath
Taking pot shots at previous governments, the defence minister said in the past only select people used to receive benefits of government welfare schemes
LUCKNOW Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that the Modi government’s greatest achievement in the past 10 years was to bring 25 crore people of the country above poverty line and now the poor had been provided Ayushman card through which they could avail free medical treatment up to ₹5 lakh.
Singh was speaking at a programme marking nationwide outreach for credit support to disadvantaged sections here at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan.
PM Modi virtually launched the Pradhan Mantri Samajik Utthan Evam Rozgar Adharit Jankalyan (PM-SURAJ) national portal from Lucknow and sanctioned credit support to one lakh entrepreneurs of disadvantaged sections of the country.
Taking pot shots at previous governments, Singh said in the past only select people used to receive benefits of government welfare schemes. “Once former PM Rajiv Gandhi said that out of 100 paisa sent by the central government, only 14 paisa reached people. But the BJP made a foolproof system through direct benefit transfer (DBT) in which money was transferred directly into bank accounts of beneficiaries,” he said.
“Basic facilities like direct tap water connection in every house have been made available to the poor so that women do not have to walk long distances to bring water. I have asked all MLAs in my constituency to see that every household in Lucknow gets tap water,” said the defence minister.
He added: “PM Modi is committed towards Viksit Bharat. The Modi government plans to raise the target for helping women associated with self-help groups (SHG) become ‘Lakhpati Didi’, from the existing 20 million to 40 million.”
The defence minister said the BJP was not here to come to power and form a government, but to develop India. He appreciated the country’s scientists and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his determination in the development of indigenous Covid vaccine.
He said the PM enquired from all his ministers about the progress in development work in their areas. “Today, the world looks towards India with a lot of respect,” emphasised Singh.
