‘85 per cent cut’: After Karnataka, PM targets Congress in Rajasthan
The Indian Express | 4 days ago | 01-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
4 days ago | 01-06-2023 | 11:45 am
Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again attacked the Congress on Wednesday over “85 per cent commission”, saying that if not for the BJP government in the last nine years, several central schemes would have taken decades more to reach every corner of the country.Addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Ajmer to mark nine years of his government, the PM said, “People often wonder where Modi gets money for all the developmental works. Our nation never had a dearth of money when it comes to development. It is important that whatever money is sent by the government, all of it is employed in developmental works.”He said that former PM Rajiv Gandhi had publicly accepted that if the Congress government sends 100 paisa, 85 paisa is lost to corruption – something that he had also stated during the Karnataka elections, ostensibly to counter the Congress’s charge that there is large-scale corruption in the award of civil contracts in the state.Also Read | Hits and misses of 9 years of Narendra Modi government“In the last nine years, the BJP government has spent Rs 24 lakh crore on highways and railways alone. Going by what Rajiv Gandhi said, had there been a Congress government, 20 lakh crore out of Rs 24 lakh crore would have been looted,” he said.Similarly, Rs 24 lakh crore out of Rs 29 lakh crore under Direct Benefit Transfer; Rs 19,000 crore out of Rs 22,000 crore to tribal students for their education; Rs 3.15 lakh crore out of Rs 3.75 lakh crore for water facilities; and Rs 2 lakh crore out of Rs 2.25 lakh crore for homes for poor would have been looted in the middle, before they could reach the intended beneficiaries, he claimed, adding that “Congress does not discriminate when it comes to looting”.He accused the Congress of putting the lives of crores of women and children in danger, saying that the inoculation coverage was just around 60 per cent under Congress rule. He said that it would have taken Congress another 40 years to reach hundred per cent coverage, leading to an unimaginable number of poor women and children losing their lives.Express Opinion | Suhas Palshikar writes on nine years of BJP government: Failures, Modi-proofedHe said that even for a gas connection, people had to run from pillar to post under Congress rule. Hence, only 14 crore people had gas connection in 2014, and that it would have taken another 20 years for complete coverage, “meaning that another generation would have passed by without a gas connection. This was not acceptable to me. Hence, in the last nine years, the BJP government has given over 19 crore gas connections”.“Before 2014, there were over 18 crore families which did not get tap water. In the last three years, the BJP government has connected 9 crore families with water connection through pipelines. Had there been a Congress government, it would have taken it 20 more years to do the same,” the PM said.Also Read | Emergency documentary, showcasing development: BJP set to kickstart UP outreach to mark 9 years of Modi govtHe said that around 2 lakh former soldiers in Rajasthan have received benefits under the One Rank One Pension, while across the country, former soldiers have received about Rs 65,000 crore so far.The PM said that things have changed a lot since 2014. “Before 2014, across the nation, the public was on the streets against corruption, there were terrorist attacks in big cities every other day, Congress was scared to build roads on the border, and crimes against women were at a peak. There was a superpower above the Prime Minister and the Congress government was being run via remote control. There was indecision, policies failed, investors were disappointed, and the youth had darkness before them,” he said.Also Read | 9 years of Modi govt: Cong accuses BJP of ‘looting’ people, says life of poor didn’t improve“Today, India is being praised the world over. Today, big experts are saying that India is on the verge of eliminating extreme poverty. Friends, how did this change come about? The answer is sabka saath, sabka vikas, prioritising the deprived,” he said.With the Rajasthan government recently passing Right to Health, the PM said: “Congress’s habit of guarantee is not new, but old. Fifty years ago, Congress gave the nation a guarantee to end poverty, and this is the biggest betrayal of the poor by the Congress… to hide its failures, Congress has come up with a new formula of false guarantees.”He said that if these guarantees are implemented, they will not only bankrupt the state but the nation. “You are witnessing the condition of those countries which are going bankrupt, this is the vision and policy of Congress,” the PM said.He said that the people of Rajasthan gave a mandate to Congress five years ago, “and in return, Rajasthan got instability and anarchy. MLA, minister and the Chief Minister are busy fighting amongst themselves. The Congress government is kind to terrorists and busy in appeasing terrorists. The Rajasthan Congress government has given a free hand to those conspiring against our daughters. The Congress government does not care about the safety and the interests of daughters.”“I can say with immense satisfaction that BJP government has paid attention to all the problems faced by mothers, daughters and sisters,” the PM said, listing various schemes and measures which have benefited women, such as Matru Vandana Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Mudra Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, increasing maternity leave for women, paving the way for women wanting to join all three armed forces, sending money directly to bank accounts of women, starting a campaign to ensure a child is born in the hospital, building crores of toilets in schools, etc. The PM also listed several measures taken by his government towards farmer welfare.
