Govt at doorsteps to ensure benefits reach people: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that the Indian government is committed to ensuring the inclusion of all eligible individuals in its schemes and policies. The Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, a campaign launched by the government, aims to connect with beneficiaries and address any issues of red tape or lack of awareness. The BJP-led government is aiming to consolidate its support among beneficiaries of government schemes in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Modi emphasized the importance of reaching out to those who have previously been deprived of government benefits and ensuring their inclusion in policies and programs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the Union government is committed to ensuring the saturation of all its schemes and policy interventions, which is why public representatives and officials through the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra are knocking on the doors of those eligible for benefits to ensure nobody is left out.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with beneficiaries of the 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra' via a video conference, on Monday (PTI)

Modi, who addressed the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra programme and interacted virtually with beneficiaries of various government schemes, said the campaign has completed 50 days and connected with 110 million people.

“This Yatra is not only of the government but also of the country... this is a Yatra of dreams, aspirations, hopes and resolutions,” he said.

The Yatra that has been launched in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is an attempt by the BJP-led NDA government to ensure that those eligible for government schemes are not left behind owing to red tape or lack of awareness. Labharthis or beneficiaries have emerged as a votebank of the government that the BJP is keen to consolidate its hold over.

He said the Yatra, also known as “Modi ki guarantee wali gadi” (vehicle of Modi’s guarantees) is reaching out to those people who have been waiting to benefit from the government’s policies.

“...It is reaching those who had never imagined that the government, the bureaucracy and the netas (leaders) will knock on the doors of the poor and ask whether they have benefited from a government policy or not. But this is happening and with full honesty,” he said.

Taking a dig at the previous Congress-led UPA government, he said many generations spent their life without having their aspirations and dreams fulfilled. “They thought deprivation is their fate and spent their life because they were compelled to. For the smallest needs they had to struggle. Those who were poor, farmers, women and the youth had to face this the most. Our government wants the present and future generations to not have to live a life like that, they should not have to face the problems that their ancestors did,” he said.

Referring to the poor, farmers, women and the youth as “his favourite four castes”, the PM said if these groups are empowered, then India’s development is guaranteed.

“The biggest purpose of this Yatra is that any person who is eligible should not be left out of government schemes. Sometimes because of lack of awareness or other reasons, people are deprived of benefits... to reach such people is the responsibility of our government,” he said.