Sunday, 24 September 2017 | PNS | Varanasi
In a scathing attack on the previous Central and State Governments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday — the second day of his visit to Varanasi — the fight against black money and corruption would continue through the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and linking of all bank accounts with Aadhaar.
Modi said, “Being the representative of the biggest political party, I will always think for the welfare of country and not for vote bank.”
Addressing an impressive meeting on the city outskirts at Shahanshahpur in Araji Line block after inaugurating Pashudhan Arogya Mela (Animal Health Fair), the PM said during the last 70 years since Independence, none of the Governments thought about doing something for livestock’s growth and health but his Government is working in that direction. “It is a step towards our goal to double the income of farmers by 2022 when the country will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of Independence,” he said.
On corruption, Modi said his Government has “waged a war” against black money and graft, for which the poor has had to suffer because of “the loot” by the dishonest. “A common honest man suffers as the corrupt used to loot him. The campaign for honesty is now moving forward. The way our trader brothers are associating with GST and Aadhaar, every penny of the people will be spent for their welfare.
We are moving forward fast,” he said.
Attacking his political rivals, Modi said for the BJP, politics was not for the sake of votes as it considered the country’s development as the top-most priority.
“Some politicians work only when it fetches them votes. But we have been brought up in a different culture. For us, the nation is above all and it is our top-most priority, not votes,” he said.
Stressing that his Government’s prime agenda was development, he said “Governance is not about politics or winning elections. The priority is the well-being of the nation.”
“Our (BJP) politics is not for votes, our culture is different. In politics, people do only things which yield votes, but our character is different,” Modi said. He said by 2022, “every poor, whether in urban or rural area, will get a home”.
Modi, who also distributed Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana certificates to some beneficiaries, said, “When crores of houses are built across the country, it will require bricks, cement, iron and wood. It will generate jobs for thousands and open up new avenues of income and employment. “If Modi will not take up such an arduous task, who else will. Crore of families are still homeless.”
The PM also promised to double farm income by 2022 as he congratulated UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for organising the Pashudhan Arogya Mela, which he said “will benefit the farmers across the State.”
“Doubling of farmers’ income is an area in which significant work is being done,” he said and added, “Let us build on the strides we have made in the dairy sector. Cooperatives can help in this regard as they have in other parts of the nation.”
Modi said proper healthcare of the cattle through such initiatives would help increase milk production in India which is lower than in several countries. Encouraging farmers to adopt dairy farming and animal husbandry as alternative sources of income, he said such initiatives would lead to “a new path of progress” that would not only raise farmers’ income but also the overall national income.
He also targeted the erstwhile Samajwadi Party Government in Uttar Pradesh for not providing to the Centre the list of homeless requiring houses in the State. “The previous Government had no interest in giving homes to the poor. After mounting pressure, they gave a list of only 10,000. But the current (Yogi) Government has given a list of lakhs of people to avail benefit,” he said.
Earlier, Modi laid the foundation stone for toilet units at a village under his pet Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan project. Reiterating his “Clean India” message, Modi said he is happy to have got the “opportunity to help in construction of toilets for the poor. Swachhata is puja (cleanliness is worship for me). It can save my countrymen from diseases. Cleanliness is a way to serve the poor of India”.
Noting that cleanliness was everyone’s responsibility, he said, “Because of the mentality that someone will spread garbage and others will clean it, we have not made India as clean as it should have been. It is not just to make our villages look good but also for the sake of health.”
Referring to his Government’s cleanliness drive, he quoted a survey and said toilets at home can save up to Rs 50,000 per annum if hygenic practices are adopted.
Praising the people of the village where he laid the foundation of a toilet for naming it as “izzatghar” (the home of honour), Modi said, “I liked this word so much. Where there is izzatghar, there is honour of our mothers and sisters. I also congratulate the State Government for recognising it as izzatghar. In the days to come, those who are concerned about their honour, will construct more izzatghar.”
The PM also lauded the CM for organising health camps for cattle and said ailing animals have been brought here from different parts of the State to be treated by specialist doctors and hoped that such programmes would be held across the State more often.
He said such fairs and camps would also help poor farmers who cannot afford treatment to their animal due to poverty. Earlier, he went around the animal shelter (gau shala) and spoke to the staff.
The PM said in Kashi (Varanasi) he had saved crores of rupees by using LED bulbs in homes and street lights. “This money can be used on development.” He said many new projects have been launched for cleanliness in Varanasi, including Rs 600 crore sewer treatment plant and a unit to generate power from garbage