Hope has replaced hopelessness under NDA, says "UP wala" Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asserted that a mood of development and hope pervaded the country replacing hopelessness that prevailed under the UPA rule as he pitched his government as one dedicated to the poor and farmers which prevented the "loot" of public money.
Addressing the first of his four public rallies here in Uttar Pradesh, which will have assembly polls next year, to mark the second anniversary of his government, Modi reached out to the electorate, calling himself a "UP wala" who cared for the farmers.
He said his government had taken a series of measures to help repay the dues of sugarcane farmers, a politically important constituency in the region, while other governments were not concerned about them.

Recalling that in his address after he was elected the leader of the BJP-led NDA following the Lok Sabha win he had promised his government would be dedicated to the poor, Modi said every decison he had taken ever since was in that direction.
"If you look at my work of two years, you will see one decision after the other was taken to empower the poor to fight poverty, to strengthen the poor against poverty so that they could defeat it. No poor man wants to bequeath poverty to his children. I have always tried to work for the common man," he said.

Development, he said, was the solution to all problems and all other talk was meant to win elections and cater to vote bank politics.

With the NDA dispensation facing criticism over alleged intolerance, Modi said his government's "conscience was clear" and it wanted to develop all sections of society.
Citing Swachh Bharat initiative, Mudra loan scheme, Prime Minister crop insurance scheme, free LPG connections to poor and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, he said these programmes were meant to serve everybody, irrespective of caste and religion, while schemes launched earlier were made keeping in mind castes and vote banks.
Without naming the UPA government, he attacked it over alleged corruption and flagged his government's "honest" credentials.

"How much money was looted. Now I am in government and I am shocked over it as whether people are given chair to loot public money. I had pledged to stop this.
"I want to ask you have you ever heard any news that the Modi government had pocketed money? Have even our rivals levelled such allegations? Two years ago nobody had the courage to give their report card to lakhs of people like this," he said.
Asserting that India was growing at the fastest rate, Modi
said only two years ago many thought the country had "sunk".
"They would say India has sunk and things cannot change. There was a mood of hopelessness while there is enthusiasm today. Earlier there was a mood of unease, now it is about moving forward," he said.

Speaking about the ongoing electrification of over 18000 villages, Modi said media highlights any gap in the claims made by his government and added he welcomed criticism. Over 7000 villages have received power and UP had the largest share, he said.
Attacking previous governments for making LPG connections a thing for the rich, Modi said his government had distributed it among the 3 crore poor families and 5 crore more will be covered in the next three years. The Prime Minister noted over 1 crore families had given up LPG subsidy at his call.
"In the last 60 years, the work for women's empowerment like this has never happened," he said noting that health of poor women suffered due to burning of wood as fuel.

Claiming his government had shown how the poor can be empowered, Modi said over Rs 1.25 lakh crore was distributed among 3.25 crore such families under the Mudra loan scheme.
He told the gathering that being an MP from UP he was a 'UP-walla' and wanted to seek their blessings as he recalled it was around this time two years ago that his government had taken oath.
As the 'Pradhan Sewak', a term he has often used for himself, Modi said he is giving an account of his work to people.
Modi said the ratio of divisible resources between Centre and the states earlier was 65:35 which his government changed and now 65 per cent of the share was going to the states. Over Rs 2 lakh crore was given to panchayats, Modi said, underlining his government's "commitment" to development of states and villages.

When he had taken over the reins, the dues of sugarcane farmers ran up to Rs 14000 crore, which had come down to about Rs 700-800 crore now due to measures taken by his government, Modi said and "warned" the sugar mill owners against treating the farmers the way they did in the past.
"We have taken a pledge that when the country celebrates 75 years of independence in 2022, we will double the income of farmers through implementation of various policies," he said and listed a host of schemes launched for their benefit like soil health card and crop insurance.

Modi also called for judicious use of water, saying adequate amount of it will help farmers against all odds.
"I request you to save as much water as you can," he said.
The Prime Minister said it is the strength of the
countrymen that they have lived this democracy.
"When the newspaper offices are sealed and radio speaks only voice, people on the other hand make you realise the power of democratic forces. This is a big strength for any nation," he said in apparent reference to the days of Emergency in the country.
"The shining example of democratic powers of a common citizen of the country was seen during Emergency and it should keep reminding the nation again and again," Modi added.

He said there should be an attitude that people continue to realise their strengths.
"I keep saying that democracy does not mean that you vote and give contract of five years for running the country. Voting is a crucial part of democracy, but there are several other aspects too. The biggest aspect is people's participation -- the pulse of the people, the thinking of the people. The more governments associate with the people, the more is the country strengthened," he said.
"It is the gulf between the people and the governments which is the cause of our ailments. It has been my endeavour always to take the country forward through people's participation," he said.

Noting that his government recently completed two years, Modi said some "modern-thinking youth" had given him a "kind of challenge" to get his government's performance assessed by the people.
He said when he mentioned this to his senior colleagues, they said it should not be done as in this age technology can be misused and the survey can be taken anywhere.
"They expressed concern. But I thought the risk should be taken. A try should be given. Let us see what happens," Modi said, adding the survey was subsequently carried out on 'Rate my government-MyGov.In' in different languages.
Three lakh people gave answers to all the questions, he said, contending that the sample size is bigger than the ones in surveys carried out after elections.
He said he will not go into the result of the survey as he left it to the media to do so.
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The Prime Minister also referred to the International
Yoga Day celebrated on June 21 and said a momentum of yoga should be maintained for at least a year as it may help cure diabetes.
Modi also mentioned the recent induction of three women as fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force. While naming the three, he hailed them as an example of empowerment of women, particularly since they come from small cities and towns.
He welcomed the prediction of good rains in the country during Monsoon, saying it will give relief to the countrymen, particularly farmers, who had been facing drought and water- scarcity.
In this context, he again laid thrust on water conservation, saying "jal hai toh kal hai (water is essential for a better tomorrow)".
Referring to the feat achieved by the ISRO in launching 22 satellites in one go a few days back, Modi had words of praise for students of Pune and Tamil Nadu who had prepared two of these satellites.
He said more and more children should be encouraged to become scientists so that the country can have innovations, especially in the area of space.