Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday offered prayers at Sai Baba Temple in Maharashtra’s Shirdi and handed over house keys to 10 beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G) scheme.

On the occasion of the Sai Baba Samadhi centenary celebrations, the PM said that being amongst people during the auspicious occasion of Dussehra gives him energy and renewed vigour to work for the betterment of the country. He also lashed out at the previous government during a public meeting.

Underlining the teachings of the revered saint, who is worshipped by thousands of devotees across the country, the PM said that Maharashtra has taught the lesson of societal harmony to the nation.

“Be it Chhatrapati Shivaji, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar or Mahatma Phule, all established ideals which uphold harmony and unity as the strengths of society,” the PM said.

“We have to remember the lessons taught by these great personalities and have to defeat any force that tries to create divide in the society,” he added.

At the public meeting, the PM said that his government has completed half of the goal of providing a permanent house to every family by 2022.

“A permanent house makes life easy and provides enthusiasm to fight against poverty. Keeping this in mind, the government has set the goal of providing a permanent house to every family by 2022. I am happy that we have completed half the journey,” he added.

Taking a jibe at the Congress without naming it, the PM said that efforts to alleviate the poor have been made by previous government but they failed because “unfortunately instead of aiming for the uplift of the poor, they have been focussed in the promotion of the name of a single family”.

“In its last 4 years of governance, the previous government built only 25 lakh houses. In last 4 years, the BJP-led central government built 1.25 crore houses,” the PM said.

The PM said that not only has the speed of construction of houses increased, their size, too, is larger.

“We have also increased the government assistance in construction of homes from Rs 70 thousand to Rs 1 lakh 20 thousand,” the PM said.

He expressed happiness at his government’s ability to deliver houses to 2.5 lakh people in Maharashtra.

In his tribute to Sai Baba, the PM said Shirdi is cited as an example when it comes to public service, sacrifice and penance. He praised the Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust for its public service.

He also hailed the other great personalities who contributed to Shirdi’s reputation.

At the event, the PM launched a 10 megawatt solar unit for the Sansthan. The PM said that the model can be replicated in other institutions across the country.

The PM said that his government is working towards completing stalled projects under the Pradhanmantri Krishi Sichai Yojna to help bring the farmers out of a water crisis.

The PM added that besides agriculture, the government is also promoting tourism.

“A major campaign to bring youth closer to faith, spirituality and history has been initiated. The tourist circuit of the country is being connected and all facilities being constructed,” he said.

At the event, the PM said that there will be an increase in the number of flights from Shirdi so that more devotees from around the world and country are able to visit the Sai Baba temple.

He also unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of foundation stone of various development works of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust and released a silver coin to commemorate Centenary year of Shri Saibaba Samadhi.