Due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts, Khadi and village industry is witnessing unprecedented rise of 133 per cent in the past four years, said BJP’s national president Amit Shah after unveiling steel spinning while (charakha) at Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad.
Before 2014 it used to be meager 6 per cent annually, said Shah. The 11 feet high, 22-feet long, and 6.5 feet broad high quality chromium-nickel stainless steel Charkha was made at Ahmedabad, by an institution of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
Addressing a capacity crowd in Tuesday evening, the BJP President said that PM Modi is popularising Khadi among the youth and in the last four years Khadi had given employment to more than 15 lakh people through its PMEGP scheme.
“Narendrabhai has connected employment with Khadi. He has used Charkha as a weapon against unemployment. In the last two and a half years, we have distributed over 30,000 Charkhas. Gandhiji had brought Khadi revolution while Narendra Modi will bring Sweet Revolution. like Charkha is connected with Mahatma Gandhi, honey will be associated with Narendra Modi,” he said Comparing Prime Minister’s Sweet Revolution with Mahatma Gandhi’s Khadi Revolution.
Union Minister of State for MSME (Independent Charge) Giriraj Singh said that the institutions promoting Khadi had almost disappeared and become hubs of corruption during the Congress rule. Taking a jibe at the Congress over Mahatma Gandhi, Singh said, “Those who came to power after Independence exploited Gandhi politically, but buried his policies.”
The Minister further said that the NDA government was working to bring the charkha and solar power together under the Solar Charkha Mission, which would provide jobs to five crore women.
KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said that nothing could be the better fitting tribute to Saint of Sabarmati Mahatma Gandhi ahead of his 150th Birth Anniversary that the KVIC had installed the first Grand Steel Charkha of his home state on the other side of his Sabarmati Ashram - to spread his message of non-violence and self-reliance.
“Exactly 101 years ago in June 1917, he established Sabarmati Ashram - to spread his message of non-violence and self-reliance across the nation. And, now we are leaving no stone unturned to spread his policies globally,” he said, adding, “To mark the 150 years of Gandhiji’s Birthday next year, we are going to provide Charkhas to all the jails where he had being imprisoned during our freedom struggle,” said Saxena.