With an eye on the Assembly polls later this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a strong yet veiled attack on the Congress and its ‘first family’ even as he extolled the virtues of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary.
Addressing a gathering in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, after launching the Mohanpura Irrigation Project, Modi said that to glorify one family, deliberate attempts were being made to belittle the contribution of other towering leaders in nation building.
later in the afternoon, he inaugurated a number of development works from Indore.
He said the Congress was spreading lies, confusion and pessimism and was cut off from the ground reality.
“It is unfortunate for the country that just to eulogise one family, the contribution of others was forgotten,” Modi added.
He further said the party which ruled the country for maximum years never trusted the people and their hard work. “In the last four years, we never spoke of frustration and dismay. We are the ones who are marching ahead with confidence,” he said, adding that people believed in the BJP and its Government, which was working for their welfare. Facing a stiff challenge from the Congress in the State, where the BJP is in power for last three terms, Modi’s attack on the Opposition party and projecting its development agenda are a symbolic launching of the poll bugle.
Modi said in the last four years at the Centre and 13 years in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP had worked for the upliftment and empowerment of the poor, farmers and deprived sections of society. He said when the Congress ruled Madhya Pradesh, it was called a BIMARU State.
“The Congress never saw this as an insult to the people of the State. The BJP had worked hard to remove this tag,” he added.
Recalling Mookerjee’s contribution to the country, Modi said, “His vision inspires us even today and helps us come out of despondency.”
As independent India’s first Industries and Supplies Minister (in the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet), he framed the nation’s maiden industrial policy, the Prime Minister said.
Mookerjee believed that the Government should fulfil the dreams of its people and improve the life of the poor, Modi said. His thoughts and actions for the country’s industrial policy, things he had done in the areas of education, women empowerment and nuclear policy were far ahead of his times and they are still relevant, the Prime Minister said.
later in the day, in Indore Modi accused the Congress of neglecting the development of cities during its long rule in the country and said his Government had come out with new ideas and approach on urban governance.
Villages are the soul of the country, while cities are its energy centres, he said, while addressing a public meeting. “The development of civic amenities and infrastructure in cities did not match the growth in population. Under the previous Congress rule, cities remained neglected,” he alleged.
However, after the BJP-led Government came to power at the Centre in 2014, the approach towards urban governance changed, Modi claimed.
The Prime Minister said his Government’s schemes like Swachchh Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, Smart City and AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) laid the foundation of a ‘New India’.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, three times more houses were constructed in four years than in the 10 years of the Congress-led UPA rule (2004-14), he said, adding, “If we went by the speed of the UPA regime, we would have taken 20 years to do what we achieved in four years.”
He said his Government had provided a transparent and corruption-free administration in the last four years and people were experiencing its results.