Twitter
Advertisement

Previous govts named schemes after members of one family: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday charged the Congress-led governments of the past with pursuing "vote bank politics" and naming schemes after members of one family and reached out to the numerically significant Nishad community in Uttar Pradesh as he launched solar-powered boats for plying on river Ganga.

Latest News
article-main
rime Minister Narendra Modi distributes the free LPG connections to the beneficiaries, under PM Ujjwala Yojana in Ballia on Sunday. Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra is also seen.
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday charged the Congress-led governments of the past with pursuing "vote bank politics" and naming schemes after members of one family and reached out to the numerically significant Nishad community in Uttar Pradesh as he launched solar-powered boats for plying on river Ganga.

Addressing a gathering on the famous Assi Ghat on the banks of the river Ganges here, Modi said, "Our approach is in stark contrast with the governments of the past which cared only for vote banks and devised poverty alleviation schemes which never aimed at eradicating poverty as such but only garnering votes of the poor during elections". .

Without naming the Nehru-Gandhi family by name, the Prime Minister recalled that after the launch of seven satellites recently, "we felt a desire to name these after Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Shayma Prasad Mukherjee.

"After all, have we not seen so many schemes being named after members of just one family. But ultimately we heeded the call of our conscience and called these satellites Navik which means boatman".

"In this way we have aimed at imparting dignity to the boatmen who have rendered invaluable service towards making the ancient city of Kashi famous around the world," he said.



PTI

"Earlier when something was talked about our Nishad brothers, the price of diesel was brought down by one rupee or so in the hope that they will cast their vote in favour. But we have made schemes, which empower the poor to fight and defeat the poverty themselves. We are working in that direction," he said listing a number of other schemes.

Reaching out to the backward fishermen and boatmen communities (kevat, nishad, machchuara) and addressing them as "brothers", the Prime Minister said his government is "for the poor".

Modi, who is also the local Lok Sabha member, was speaking after the launch of "e-boats", which are traditional motorboats wherein diesel engines are replaced with batteries which are charged through solar panels retrofitted on the top.

"The poor of this country have demonstrated that they can change their own destiny with just a little help, a little empowerment. Millions of poor, whom the banks were viewing with suspicion, have deposited crores out of their own savings. Any number of persons have started their own businesses or brought about innovations in their respective trades with the help they have received under the Mudra Yojana", Modi said.

"Similar has been the experience with e-rickshaws. Now, with e-boats, boatmen too would experience dramatic improvement in their lives. They will now no longer need to invest money on diesel. With lower noise pollution levels, there is the likelihood of people showing greater enthusiasm for boat rides", the PM added.


PTI

The introduction of e-boats has come against the backdrop of concerns over the pollution in the river Ganga caused by fumes of diesel emanating from the motorboats which have also said to be a menace for the tortoise sanctuary spread over a 7-km-long stretch on the river bed.

The Prime Minister was accompanied, among others, by UK High Commissioner to India Dominique Asquith. During his nearly 45-minute-long speech, he said "earlier in the day, I was in Ballia district where we launched a scheme aimed at bringing LPG connections to nearly five crore poor families. This is unlike the stance of the previous governments which never looked beyond effecting marginal reductions in price of cylinders ahead of elections".

"In Varanasi, my first function marked distribution of e-rickshaws among those who drove manual rickshaws for a living. With less physical effort, the rickshaw pullers will now be able to ply greater distances and earn much more than they used to in the past. This is our approach when it comes to the commitment towards uplifting the poor", Modi said.

The Prime Minister was referring to a function held at Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) premises earlier in the day where a total of 11000 e-rickshaws were distributed. Out of these, 16 got their e-rickshaws personally from Modi.

After the DLW function and before coming to Assi Ghat, Modi also visited Jnana Pravaha, a city-based centre for cultural studies where he spent close to 45 minutes. 

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
    Advertisement

    Live tv

    Advertisement
    Advertisement