Jabalpur: Continuing his pre-poll blitz in Madhya Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hit out at the Congress for eulogizing "only one family", saying the country did not get independence or achieve development solely because of it.
On his second visit to the assembly poll-bound BJP-ruled state in four days to launch projects, he blasted the Congress and it leaders for allegedly pocketing crores of rupees in the name of the poor and said opposition parties raised doubts when India came up with an effective vaccine against coronavirus.
"They raised questions when India developed an effective vaccine against coronavirus. Someone told me a new film called 'The Vaccine War' has been made to open the eyes of people in the world (about India's vaccine prowess). Such a film has been made in our country. Our scientists pulled off a miracle and saved the lives of crores of people and a movie has been made on it," the PM said.
The Vivek Agnihotri-directed movie, which released theatrically on September 28, is based on the true story of Indian scientists, their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and how they developed an affordable vaccine for India and the world. Modi was speaking after laying foundation stones of the Veerangana Rani Durgavati Memorial and Garden in Jabalpur and other projects worth Rs 12,600 crore. The PM, who came to the event venue in an open jeep accompanied by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state BJP president V D Sharma, also inaugurated a slew of development projects in the state, where assembly polls are due by the year-end.
On the occasion, Chouhan explained to the PM details of the proposed Veerangana Rani Durgavati Memorial and Garden project, a model of which was kept on the dais. On October 2, Modi was in Gwalior where he laid foundation stones or inaugurated multiple development projects ahead of polls. The party that remained in power for decades has done only one thing, just eulogizing one family. Neither the nation got its independence because of just one family, nor did it develop because of them, Modi said at the Jabalpur event, without naming the Congress or the Gandhi family. On the other hand, the PM said, his government honoured icons like Dr B R Ambedkar, Sant Ravidas and Rani Kamlapati by constructing memorials dedicated to them.
Referring to technological advancements made by the country, Modi said the names of some 11 crore non-existing persons were removed from government records as benefits were being availed of in their names. This figure (11 crore) is more than the population of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the prime minister pointed out.
His government formed the triumvirate of Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar number and mobile connection to decimate the "corrupt network of the Congress" and prevent the theft of more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore, and that was the reason opposition parties were feeling a heartburn, he said. Before 2014, scams worth thousands of crore under the then-Congress-led government used to make headlines almost everyday, Modi said.
The money meant to be spent on welfare of the poor use to go to Congress leaders' coffers, he alleged. "We ran a drive to change the corrupt system (after BJP came to power at Centre in 2014) and found the name of beneficiaries who were not born. There also we ran a cleanliness drive. Modi purged the system and their cuts went away. Modi cleansed the system," he maintained.
The PM said his government ensured women in rural areas got gas connections through the Ujjwala scheme for cooking food instead of using the smoky 'chulha' or wood-fired stove that was a health hazard. He maintained that providing a smoke-free environment in the kitchen for women has been a top priority of the BJP-led government at the Centre.
Citing findings of a research on harmful effects of traditional cooking methods, the PM told the gathering that a smoke-emitting stove produces fumes that is equivalent to smoking 400 cigarettes in 24 hours. Modi lamented the lack of effort from previous governments to provide a safe environment for women.
Speaking about the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched in 2016 to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to rural and deprived households, he recalled difficulties in getting a gas connection earlier.
He highlighted the reduction in prices under the scheme during the festive period of Raksha Bandhan by the Centre which made gas cylinders cheaper by Rs 400 for Ujjwala beneficiaries. He spoke about the government's decision to further reduce gas cylinder prices by Rs 100 ahead of the festive season.
In the past few weeks, prices of gas cylinders for Ujjwala beneficiaries have been reduced by Rs 500," Modi said.
Referring to laying of gas pipelines in Madhya Pradesh, the Prime Minister emphasized that the Centre was making huge strides in supply of cheaper cooking gas to households through pipelines. He said the central government is spending crores of rupees to make available gas cylinders for just Rs 500 under the Ujjwala scheme and shelling out Rs 3 lakh crore to provide free ration to million of families in the country.
Among other government programmes, Rs 70,000 crore is being spent on free treatment of about 5 crore families under the Ayushman scheme, while Rs 8 lakh crore has been sanctioned to ensure farmers get urea at cheap rates. More than Rs 2.5 lakh crore has been deposited in bank accounts of small farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, while Rs 4 lakh crore has been spent on providing permanent houses to poor families, said Modi.
Underlining that it is a critical time for Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP is in power since 2003 barring 15 months in 2018-2020, the PM warned any hindrance in development will ruin the hard work of the last two decades.
Today, India's confidence is at a new high. From playground to fields and barns, the flag of India is flying high, he said. He highlighted India's impressive performance at the ongoing Asian Games in China, where the country has already surpassed its highest-ever medal tally. Modi spoke about the role of India's tribal society in independence and enriching the country's cultural heritage and questioned the neglect of adivasis by those who ruled for decades. He pointed out it was the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government that formed a separate ministry for tribals.
He touched upon India getting its first female tribal president and the birth anniversary of tribal hero Birsa Munda being celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas. Before 2014, the PM said, MSP was given only for 8-10 forest produce while the remaining ones were sold at throwaway prices. "Today, about 90 forest products have been brought under the ambit of MSP," he said.
Modi mentioned about gifting Gond tribal paintings to world leaders. The PM gave examples of organizing a grand global event like the G20 summit in Delhi, and success of India's Chandrayaan-3 mission to emphasize on the country's growing profile and said the mantra of being 'vocal for local' has started resonating far and wide.
