Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s work for the upliftment of the marginalised communities at a public meeting in Bijapur in Chhattisgarh on Saturday.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion of the launch of India’s first wellness centre under Ayushman Bharat, the PM said that Bastar and Bijapur are blessed by the chants of Babasaheb’s name.

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“I bow to the hope that the name of Babasaheb carries,” said the PM on the day the nation celebrated the birth anniversary of the father of India’s Constitution.

“The consciousness in the communities which have been left behind in the race of development is because of Babasaheb,” the PM told the gathering.

Referring to himself, the PM said, “If today this brother of yours, who is the son of a poor woman and hails from a backward community, is the Prime Minister of the country then it is because of Babasaheb.”

The PM reiterated that the Centre is committed to fulfil the aspirations of the people of the region and is working on a series of development projects including construction of roads, a steel plant, airport and railway corridors in Bastar and adjoining areas.

PM Modi announced that he will not call the districts in Chhattisgarh as ‘backward’.

“I seek to remove the ‘backward’ label from the 115 districts and call them Aspirational Districts,” said the PM.

Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, whose first phase was launched today, sub centres and primary health centres will be developed as Health and Wellness centre in around 1.5 lakh villages.

The scheme, also known as National Health Protection Mission, provides insurance cover worth Rs 5 lakh per family per year for 10 crore poor and vulnerable families or approximately 50 crore beneficiaries.

The PM said that Chhattisgarh has shown remarkable development in healthcare sector. “Earlier, there were only 2 medical colleges but now there are 10 medical colleges,” he said.

On the occasion, the PM praised the efforts and achievements of the locals from the region while mentioning Jangla’s rural BPO which he visited prior to the public meeting.

According to Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Modi is the first Prime Minister to visit Bijapur. Besides the launch of Ayushman Bharat, Modi also inaugurated the first phase of the Bastar Internet scheme, which connects seven tribal districts in the state’s Maoist belt to the broadband internet.

He also presented a pair of slippers to a tribal woman under the Charan-Paduka (footwear) Scheme for collectors of Tendu leaves.