Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called upon youths to include water conservation in their daily routine, praised the BJP-led governments for efforts to ensure water adequacy in scarcity-hit areas, and criticised previous Congress regimes for hindering such attempts.

Addressing a well-attended public meeting at Dadiya village here after laying the foundation stone for the revised PKC-ERCP canal project and inaugurating or initiating other projects by remote, Modi said “The water projects being launched or inaugurated today symbolise a permanent and workable solution to the water challenges in scarcity-hit areas.

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This permanent solution to water scarcity will bring changes in the development scenario, enabling Rajasthan to emerge as the most connected and transformed state in the country in due course, the PM said.

He said, “Likewise, we made massive efforts in Gujarat by bringing water from the Narmada and the Sardar Sarovar down to the remotest and scarcity-hit areas of Gujarat.”

“We did not restrict our efforts to Gujarat but were equally concerned about the hardships being faced by people in many districts of adjoining Rajasthan,” he said, adding, “It is a matter of satisfaction that many districts of this state — from Jalore and Sirohi to Jhunjhunu and Hanumangarh, are now receiving Narmada waters.”

“It was not just me who was happy; the other day, former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and former Union Minister Jaswant Singh had come to the (Gujarat) CMO to express their gratitude for providing Narmada waters to Rajasthan. Sri Shekhawat was very emotional while praising me for that deed,” he said.

“Contrary to this, the Congress and various NGOs opposed our efforts and tried to create disputes over them. The irony was that while many regions and states frequently faced drought, several other parts struggled with floods and the wasteful draining of water, he said.

“Decades ago, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee envisioned linking of rivers to divert excess water from perennial, water-rich rivers to rivers and streams in scarcity-prone regions,” Modi recalled.

“However, the Congress was never keen on mitigating water scarcity hardships faced by the people and the party did nothing,” he said.

The PM said, “Today, waters from our rivers flow wastefully across our borders while our areas face shortages. He added that the Congress never bothered to solve conflicts related to water sharing between various states; rather the party created complications in inter-state river water disputes.”

Modi also hailed the rainwater harvesting campaign being spearheaded by the Water Resources Ministry with people’s participation in the country.

He said over three lakh rainwater harvesting structures have so far been created, which is a very effective way of recharging the groundwater table.

Underlining the role of youths in such campaigns, Modi exhorted them to incorporate at least one water conservation activity into their daily routine.

The Prime Minister likened water and its adequacy to the “Paras Patthar” (philosopher’s stone), saying that its mere touch could bring phenomenal development, transforming everything and changing the entire scenario.

“However, that requires firm and sincere resolve. We in the BJP have that resolve,” Modi asserted, adding, “We worked resolutely, kept our promises and commitments, and that is why the people have mandated us to power with good governance three times in a row at the Centre.”

“They have mandated us to power frequently over the decades in Rajasthan, where our towering leader, the late Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, laid the foundation for a developed Rajasthan during his multiple regimes. This course of development and good governance was carried forward by Ms Vasundhara Raje in her previous terms, and it has been given new strides by the incumbent Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal Sharma, and his team.

“It is the glorious track record of the BJP that has been bringing electoral success in more and more states, including Haryana and Maharashtra. In contrast, the previous Congress government in Rajasthan tarnished the image of the state and meted out injustice to the youth.”

He said, “Paper leaks and many scams in government job recruitments did injustice to the youth and their future, and also defamed the state across the country.

Now, the incumbent BJP-led government has recruited and/or opened up the recruitment process for a large number of posts in several state government departments.

He has also hailed various programmes and schemes of the Centre and state, such as Bima Sakhi, Lakhpati Didi, Namo Drone Didi, Vishwakarma Pension Scheme, and Rooftop Solar energy scheme.

Union Water Resources Minister CP Patil, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, and Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma also spoke.