Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday blamed the previous Congress governments for meting out “step-motherly” treatment to villages in the country after Independence and breaking the rural electorate’s trust.
Addressing three million panchayat representatives virtually on National Panchayati Raj Day in Rewa, Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of projects worth ₹17,000 crore. The Prime Minister expressed happiness that the panchayats are implementing the government’s schemes for gaon aur gareeb (villages and the poor) with full dedication.
“It is important to develop the social system, the economy and the Panchayati Raj system in the villages of India in order to create a developed nation,” he said.
The PM said unlike the present government working tirelessly to create a robust system, the previous (Congress) governments discriminated against panchayats.
“Before 2014, the budget for Panchayat Raj was less than ₹70,000 crore but after 2014, this grant was increased to more than ₹2 lakh crore. I don’t talk about more years but 10 years before 2014, only 6,000 panchayat bhawans were constructed while we constructed more than 30,000 panchayat bhawans in the last eight years. Spending on villages was avoided earlier as they were not considered vote banks,” he added.
The PM also attacked previous governments for not following the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi.
{{/usCountry}}The PM also attacked previous governments for not following the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi.
{{/usCountry}}“Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) said that ‘India lives in its villages’ but the previous government barely paid any heed to his ideology, which resulted in the Panchayati Raj being neglected for decades. Today, panchayats are coming up as the life force of India’s development. The Gram Panchayat Vikas Yojana is helping panchayats to work effectively,” he added.
Modi also attacked Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath without naming him.
The Prime Minister said, “Why the people of Chhindwara, whom you trusted for a long time, remained indifferent to the development of this area, the answer lies in their thinking. After Independence, the party which mostly ran the government broke the trust of the villages. During Congress rule, the villages were kept at the bottom. The country cannot progress by giving such step-motherly treatment to the villages.” Chhindwara is Nath’s pocket borough. Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to go to polls later this year.
Praising the efforts made by his government for panchayats, the PM Modi said two lakh gram panchayats got optical fibre connectivity after the present administration came to power.
“The present government is working hard to bridge the gap between villages and cities,” he added. He highlighted all the schemes being run to empower Panchayat Raj, including Amrit Sarovar, GeM portal for public procurement, PM Svamitva scheme, Ujwala scheme, housing schemes, PM Saubhagya Yojna and Har Ghar Jal Yojna
Talking about the Samaveshi Abhiyan, eGramSwaraj and GeM portal for public procurement launched on Monday in Rewa, the Prime Minister said that this will be a strong initiative for achieving Viksit Bharat (developed India) through Sabka Vikas (shared progress).
“Every panchayat, every institution, every representative, every citizen of the country will have to unite for a developed India. This is possible only when every basic facility reaches 100% beneficiaries quickly and without any discrimination,” he said.
The PM inauguarated the electrification of the Chhindwara-Nainpur-Mandla Fort rail line, and flagged off the Chhindwara-Nainpur train.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan thanked Prime Minister Modi for the Jal Jeevan Mission. “If you open the tap, water will come to every house. The country is moving forward under the leadership of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister lives in our hearts,” he said.