Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday delivered a pep talk to BJP Members of Parliament on his government's welfare schemes, the achievements of it abroad in the last eleven months and how the party must strategise to counter the opposition criticism of the NDA regime's policies.
Modi was addressing the parliamentarians even as the Congress was getting set to address a farmers' rally at the Ram Lila Ground on the outskirts of the Old City of Delhi to counter the government's land acquisition bill.
The day-long workshop has been organized for the BJP parliamentary party in association with Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, an RSS-affiliated training institute.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Modi said that the operation to evacuate Indians from war-ravaged Yemen was no small achievement.
"I salute Gen. (retired) V.K. Singh, (Minister of State for External Affairs) and Sushma Swaraj (External Affairs Minister) for the way our external affairs ministry worked in evacuating India's people from Yemen. It was impressive," he said.
Referring to the civil nuclear cooperation agreements arrived at with the United States, France and Canada since the beginning of 2015, Modi said, "Every government in our country has tried that there should be a breakthrough in the civil nuclear deal. I am not criticizing any government, every government tried for it, but somehow, it was not getting successful. Whenever the aspect of nuclear deals used to come, every country cornered us. Now, this is the biggest achievement, even more than 'Make in India', as France agreed to give us the technology for nuclear reactors and Canada has agreed to provide us with uranium for the next five years. When all these things get successful, you enter into the next phase of development."
Refusing to accept the opposition's oft-repeated claim that his government was anti-poor and anti-farmer, the Prime Minister said, "We are not saying or doing things just to make news, we are doing them because we cannot sleep without working on things. The President of the United States and the World Bank say India is the fastest growing economy."
"Money which will be saved from subsidy of gas cylinders will not go into government's account, rather, it would help those poor mothers who become sick due to the smoke of 'chulha'. We will buy them cylinders from the money saved. This way, I will be helping both the environment and the poor," he added.
"I want that more money should go to the villages. This is the first time that a decision has been taken to let MPs join the 'Gramin Vikas Yojana', Modi said.
Praising the parliamentarians for receiving appreciation for building hospitals to improve the health of their constituents, he said, "I will make homes and toilets for poor."
The Prime Minister further said, "Kuch logo ne soch liya hai ki is sarkar ka accha bolna nahi, accha dekhna nahi, accha sunna nahi (There are some people who have assumed that this government does not speak nicely, does not see nicely and does not listen nicely)."
He also pitched for the effectiveness of the government's "Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao" scheme, claiming that girls of minorities who had been deprived of education and their rights were now receiving both.
"Our focus is on 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'. If the daughters of my Muslim, Dalit, Adivasi brothers and sisters are uneducated, then the country cannot progress. Our activities should not be measured by politics, but national policies," Modi said.
He asked, "We are doing everything so that we can provide some basic things to the poor in our country. Is this wrong?
"Kya yeh sapna dekhna bura hai ki mere desh ke har gareeb ke pas ek chhat ho, bijli ho? - Is it wrong to dream that the poor of this country have a roof over their heads and have access to electricity?
He said, "We have lots to tell people who are willing to listen. Wholesale inflation was the lowest in the month March. Won't this benefit the poor?"
"The world agrees that India is the fastest growing economy," he added.
"During the Congress government, the earlier focus in Railways was on the need of rich people - Rajdhani and Express trains. I checked it personally, because it is a main mode of transport for the poor people in India," he said.
"You (BJP MPs) should not worry whether media shows your photo or not, you have made your space in hearts of the people. Our direction is clear. We are not here to enjoy the government, but to work towards welfare of poor,," the Prime Minister said.
Several senior ministers, including Sushma Swaraj, M. Venkaiah Naidu and Thawar Chand Gehlot will be addressing the parliamentarians.
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is expected to make a presentation on the 'Sansad Aadarsh Gram Yojna', while Health Minister J P Nadda will talk about MPLAD funds. Sushma Swaraj will talk on development agenda, its social dimension and the need to follow up, the party said.
