Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Thursday that people’s enthusiastic response to the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra was not without reason; they had seen Modi and his work, and had therefore unlimited faith in the government and its initiatives.
Modi was interacting with beneficiaries of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, which enrolls eligible citizens in national schemes across the country, via video conferencing, and launched the Pradhan Mantri Mahila Kisan Drone Kendra.
During the programme, the prime minister dedicated the landmark 10,000th Jan Aushadhi Kendra at AIIMS, Deoghar, and launched a programme to increase the number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras in the country from 10,000 to 25,000.
He said there were times when governments considered themselves rulers of the land and as a result, a large population of the country lived without even basic amenities for several decades. People could not enter offices without giving bribes to middlemen.
One could neither get a house, a toilet, electrical or gas connection, nor insurance money, pension or start a bank account, he said. It will be painful to know that half the population had lost all hope and had no expectations, Modi said.
The governments those days saw an opportunity for politics in everything, and when elections came, they would identify their vote banks, and played the “game.” The rulers then visited only those villages and localities from where they had hope of getting votes, he said. Announcements made by such people were not trusted by the voters.
The prime minister said his government had changed this situation of hopelessness as it believed the people to be the real rulers. “We don’t work with a spirit to rule, but to serve. That’s why I want to reach every village in the country. Ending ill-governance of the past, the Government is pursuing good governance, and the target of hundred per cent saturation, where none is denied his rightful share,” he added.
True social justice and natural justice meant that the government should identify needs of the people and give them their right, Modi said. This approach of his government had ended people’s conviction of their being neglected without any hope.
Modi said people now felt they had some rights, and wanted to realize their dreams. This was evident when he talked to Purna who wanted to make his son an engineer and this determination would make the country developed.
He said the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY) had completed15 days and picked up pace. People had by their affection and participation changed the name of the VBSY van from ‘Vikas Rath’ to ‘Modi Ki Guarantee vehicle’.
Thanking the citizens for their trust in the government, he said the ‘‘Modi Ki Guarantee vehicle’ has so far reached more than 12,000 gram panchayats where approximately 30 lakh citizens engaged with it.
He lauded the participation of women in VBSY. “Every person in every village understands the meaning of development,” the Prime Minister and the VBSY was transformed into a public movement from a government initiative.
“Youth have become ambassadors of VBSY,” he said. “India is now unstoppable and not giving up. The people of India have made a decision to make the country a developed nation,” he added.
The prime minister had made announcements on drones for the women SHGs and increasing the number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras from 10,000 to 25,000 during his Independence Day speech this year.
Thursday was the day of fulfilment of the promises. Modi interacted with beneficiaries from Deoghar in Jharkhand, Raigarha in Odisha, Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh, Namsai in Arunachal Pradesh, and Arnia in Jammu and Kashmir.