At a time when the NDA Government is facing severe attack from the Opposition for being ‘anti-poor’ and ‘anti-farmer’ due to its land Ordinance, BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra on Wednesday defended his Government saying the priority of Narendra Modi’s Government is not only to fulfil the basic aspirations of “Roti, Kapda and Makan” for the common man but also to reach out to the last man standing in the queue.
During a discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in Rajya Sabha, Mitra said the Government, in fact, intends to go a step further and is committed to put the last man first.
He listed out several farmers and poor-oriented schemes — such as Rashtriya Gokul Mission, remodeled MNREGA, skill development, food processing etc — that the NDA Government is focusing on. While saying all programmes of this Government are made keeping in mind the poor, he added that the concept of “Daridra Narayan” (poor is god) cannot stay without actually taking care of the poor.
“Our worships in temples, churches, mosques is of no use unless we take care of them. Indian villages are dirty, schools are rudimentary, huts are ramshackled. Though efforts have been taken to upgrade them in the last few years yet there is a long way to go,” he said.
He mentioned that his Government was committed to keep the secular fabric of the country intact and said there was no scope for a divided India on caste, community and religious issue before ending with a couplet that summed up his Government’s mood: “Chhodo kal ki batein, kal ki baat purani, naye daur mein likhenge fir se nayi kahani, hum Hindustani” from Hindi film of yesteryears Hum Hindustani.