Development, not votes, is our priority, says Narendra Modi

“Some politicians work only when it fetches them votes. But we have been brought up in a different culture,” the Prime Minister says

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering during Pradhanmantri Aawas Yojna in Varanasi on Saturday.

Distinguishing his party from his political rivals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s work and “priorities are not decided by votes” but keeping in mind the interest and development of the nation. Mr. Modi said it was the tendency of politicians to work where they sensed a possibility for securing votes and strengthen their votebanks. “But, brothers and sisters, we were raised in a different culture. Out character is different. For us the country is bigger than the party. Our priorities are not decided by votes,” he said in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency.

'A new path of progress'

Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a cattle health fair, Pashudhan Arogya Mela, in Shahanshahpur, Mr. Modi said, “The Pashudhan Arogya Mela will serve those animals who will never go out to vote. They are not anybody's voter.”

The PM said the Pashudhan Arogya Mela would benefit the animal husbandry sector in Uttar Pradesh, provide a huge relief to farmers who due to various reasons, including financial burden, neglected the health of cattle, while increasing the milk productivity of these animals.

Mr. Modi lamented that though India was the largest producer of milk, it fared poorly in per-capita animal production, making cattle-rearing costly mostly due to poor animal health. If the per-capita production was increased, it would attract farmers towards dairy farming and also pave way for a new economic revolution.

'Izzatghar'

Mr. Modi, who also laid the foundation of a twin-pit toilet as part of the government’s cleanliness drive, praised the state for naming it “Izzatghar,” which in Hindi translates to “house of honour.” Mr. Modi said he liked the name as “where there is Izzatghar, there is honour of our mothers and sisters.” The PM said that the inhabitants of Shahanshahpur village he visited promised to him that it would be made open defecation free by October 2. Stressing that “swachhta is a puja for me,” the PM said that it was a means of freeing the poor from diseases as well as the financial burden that came along with it. Mr. Modi also reiterated the pledge to double the income of farmers by 2022, adding that his government resolved to provide a shelter to every poor in the country, urban and rural, by the same year. He criticised the previous Samajwadi Party government for allegedly ignoring the Centre’s requests to provide the list of the homeless, and said that only after much pressure the state sent a list of 10,000 beneficiaries.  In contrast, the Yogi Adityanath government, which came to power six months back, had already provided a list of lakhs of people who will avail benefit, the PM said.