Debunking Congress criticism that his government was repackaging UPA's schemes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hit back saying the Congress-led government on the contrary had copied programmes of the first NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Maintaining that he has always given credit to previous governments as well for the development of the country, Modi took potshots at Congress saying how will they accept the role of somebody else in development, when they do not give credit to anybody else even for the freedom struggle.
"Many times I hear that the schemes are not new. They are the old ones. The issue is not that. The issue is the problems are old," he said while replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address.
He said he can go to as far as 1985 or 1986 but he was not doing so and confining to the 10 years of rule UPA.
He listed a number of schemes to hammer home the point that UPA copies schemes launched during the Vajpayee tenure.
"The Multi Purpose National Identity Card scheme of NDA became Aadhar. Sampoorna Gramin Rojgar Yojna turned into MNREGA. Freedom of Information Act was brought during Atal ji's time. You brought Right to Information. Antoydaya Anna Yojana came during Atal ji's time, you brought Food Security Act.
"In Atal ji's time it was Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, you brought Right to Education Act. There was Total Sanitation campaign, you brought Nirmal Bharat," he said amid thumping of desk by members of the treasury benches and some protests from the other side.
Modi's attack was directed at Congress, which has time and again alleged that the NDA government led by him is 'copycat' government and just renamed UPA's schemes.
