5th round of GKM begins in Gujarat

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi kicked off fifth round of Garib Kalyan Melas (GKMs) by addressing thousands of beneficiaries of various government schemes through video conference on Friday. Various ministers of his cabinet remained present at 24 different places, each comprising a taluka panchayat seat, in the state to distribute government assistance to these beneficiaries.

It looks like Modi has taken Congress’ ‘promise of house to women’ campaign very seriously. He did not miss the chance of speaking against it in Junagadh on August 14. He also tried to undo the Congress’ campaign by calling it a false promise in his speech while addressing the GKMs on Friday. He said, “During its 40-year regime in the state, the Congress gave houses to only 10 lakh people, whereas the present BJP government has provided more than 12 lakh houses to the needy only in 10 years. So, women should be wary of such false promises.”

Benefits worth Rs215 crore to 72,000 beneficiaries were given in the first phase. Modi also said that Gujarat is the only state which has provided a house each to 9.80 lakh BPL (below poverty line) families. The remaining BPL families in the state will also be provided houses soon.