As the Opposition geared up for taking on the Government on a plethora of issues, land Acquisition Bill being prominent, ahead of the commencement of a likely stormy second half of the Budget Session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday exhorted party MPs to “confidently” spread the message about his dispensation’s 11-month performance, particularly the measures taken for the poor, without bothering about what some in the media or Government’s die-hard critics are saying.
Countering the accusation of being pro-corporate and pro-rich, the PM projected his Government as “pro-poor” and “pro-farmers” and lashed out at “perverted” critics for their “congenital habit” of running down the BJP which he wanted his party to counter vigorously. He also advised the MPs to highlight the achievements by making a contrast between his Government and the previous ones just like a “black & white” and “colour” TVs.
The Congress and the CPI(M) expressed their intent of not allowing breathing space for the Government. The Janata Parivar too has signaled that it would not give a free run to the ruling regime as far as its attempts to get the contentious land Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha is concerned.
In his hour-long address at a workshop for party MPs here, Modi did not specifically touch the issue of land Acquisition Bill against which the Congress organised a rally here but enlisted his Government’s initiatives aimed at benefitting farmers, including the “bold” decision to pay compensation to those whose Rabi crops were damaged in the untimely rain by bringing down the criteria of damage from 50 per cent to 33 per cent.
Stating that the decisions of the Government were guided by rashtra-neeti (national interest), and not rajneeti (politics), the PM urged the MPs to connect directly with the poor. Modi said his Government was committed to providing housing for all, and schools and hospitals for the poor. While speaking on the subject of welfare schemes for the poor, the Prime Minister attacked those “with a perverted mindset” who were spreading lies about various initiatives of the Government, including the land Acquisition Bill.
Without naming former Prime Minister Rajiv Gadhi for having said that “out of Re one, only 15 paise reaches the people”, the Modi said, “You do not have to only do analysis but treat the disease”. “All decisions I am taking are for the welfare of the poor... We are working for the poor, not for being in news but because we cannot sleep peacefully if we don’t do it. We live for the poor. We are in public life not to enjoy the power but for the welfare of the poor,” he said.
Pointing to the impact of the schemes under the 11-month BJP rule at the Centre, he referred “to drop in inflation and falling cement prices.” “Some people have this ‘janmjaat (congenital)’ habit of running down the BJP. They have a right to criticise us but then they have no right to call themselves neutral... I have always been speaking about the poor, working for them,” the Prime Minister said.
BJP patriarch lK Advani was present on the dais with Modi. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu too addressed the MPs. The meeting for the BJP Parliamentary Party was organised in association with Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, an RSS-affiliated training institute. The main theme of the meeting was the “Garib Kalyan Yojanayen” and their effective implementation and the role of an MP in doing so.
Charging at the critics, including a section of the media, he said, “Some people have decided not to hear anything good, not to say anything good and not to see anything good. We should not waste our time on them but focus on those who want to listen.” He maintained that some small incidents have been constantly magnified and exaggerated. Modi said the initiatives by his Government are showing results as the US President and heads of World Bank and IMF have acknowledged that India is the fastest growing economy of the world. At the workshop, the Prime Minister gave a broad overview of various other schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, and Toilets for All.