PM Narendra Modi implemented what makers of Constitution imagined as ideal welfare state: Home Minister Amit Shah

Shah further said, “Every government did how much they could in their time but when I do an analysis as a student of numbers, I can definitely say that before 2014 everyone did a piecemeal job (tukda-tukda kaam). There is no government that has not worked for the poor. Every government has brought a scheme to build houses for the poor, has taken it forward, brought schemes to give water to the poor, get them gas cylinders, provide medical services, and free ration. But no government has talked about freeing the country from poverty.

“In 2014, the people of India elected Narendra Modi as prime minister and he promised that there will not be a single house where there is no toilet. There will not be a single person without a house. There won’t be a single person without gas. There won’t be a single person who will have to sleep hungry. Today, 5 kg grains to 65 lakh people are given free of cost every month. Such a scheme does not exist anywhere else in the world.”

Speaking on the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), Shah said, “More than 60 crore people are given health insurance up to Rs 5 lakh by the government of India. I write to many owners of private hospitals saying ‘no fees’ and the poor (bichare) guys even accept this because I am a minister but I have seen their faces while exempting even one patient’s fees. But they too have problems. And now we have gone forward to extend the health insurance scheme to people above 70 years of age of all income groups.”

He added, “Between 2014 and 2024, Narendra Modi implemented what the makers of the Constitution imagined as the ideal welfare state.

“And with this, a lot of development (vikas) has taken place. I don’t want to touch on that. Till the time that more than 60 crore people of this country remain poor, the country cannot develop. The prime minister thought about this, brought a solution and implemented it from the ground level. As a result, 25 crore out of the 60 crore people have come out of poverty as defined by the United Nations, in just 10 years.”

On the role of NGOs, Shah said, “However I still believe that the government cannot do all these works single-handedly. If such trusts and such organisations get together and help in this work, we can get out of this problem faster… In Gujarat, a lot of organisations have helped to this end. The number of beds in charitable hospitals per capita in Gujarat in ratio to the population is higher than anywhere else in India. This is a matter of great pride for us… the highest blood donation in the country also happens in Gujarat. The highest number of eye donations also take place in Gujarat. The highest number of organs pledged and organs donated are also in Gujarat.”

Shah said that Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals were deeply rooted in the land of Gujarat.

Congratulating the Lok Seva Trust where Rajkumar’s son and former Congress national spokesperson Rohan, who is now with the BJP, is also a trustee, Shah said, “The Trust helps people with 350 government schemes with the help of swayam sevaks, and in 34 years, they have helped five lakh beneficiaries. I thank the entire team for their work.”