Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that Garibi Hatao (poverty alleviation) was the main aim of his government “without which everything else will be ineffective.”
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of ‘Chhattisgarh Rajyotsav’ organised on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the formation of the State.
“Our main aim is to make the country free from poverty. It may be a difficult task but our country's interest lies in it. If we don’t do it, nothing else can work. That is why our entire energy is directed at the welfare of the poor. Every single problem of the country can be solved only by the way of development and wherever we [BJP] are ruling, be it the States or the Center, our governments are following the path of development,” said Mr. Modi.
A brother’s call for development Addressing a crowd, mostly of women, the Prime Minister said he was fortunate to get the blessings of his sisters from Chhattisgarh on the day of Bhaiduj (a festival to celebrate the relationship between a brother and a sister).
“I assure you that this brother of yours will work hard for the welfare of everyone in the country. What would happen to my poor mothers and sisters, who use firewood for cooking, and in the process inhale smoke equivalent to that of 400 cigarettes? How long will we leave our mothers in this situation? This is why we have resolved to provide [LPG] gas connection to five crore families in the next three years. This will make these houses firewood and smoke free and will also save forest cutting,” he said.
Mr. Modi also spoke about vaccination programme ‘Indradhanushya’ and the skill development programme of his government.
“Because of lack of education among mothers about vaccination, lakhs of kids are denied vaccination despite all the programs and budget provisions. We have started the ‘Indradhanushya’ scheme which has made it a routine to identify children who are left out of vaccination program and provide them with the vaccination. Lakhs of kids have benefited from this scheme. Our government has formed a separate Skill Development ministry to train young people, who, despite being talented, are forced to live a life without skills. Our skill development program will train such young men and will help them become self-reliant,” he told the crowd.
The Prime Minister also lauded the crop insurance scheme of his government and commended Chhattisgarh for taking the initiative forward.
Mr. Modi informed that his government was encouraging “competitive cooperative federalism” among States to boost development.
He also praised Chhattisgarh for becoming a competitor to bigger States in the country despite being " a small, tribal dominated State" and also assured the State of all help in achieving its goal of development.
