Nine years of Modi govt: Infrastructure to housing, Union ministers highlight key projects

In Mumbai, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Central government was spending every paisa of tax collected for the upliftment of the poor and backward communities.

Sitharaman said in nine years 3.5 crore pucca houses had been constructed and 11.72 crore toilets had been built, restoring the dignity and security of women. “Through Ujjwala Yojana, 9.6 crore LPG connections have been provided. Eighty crore people have been given free food grain and pulses for two years,” she said.

Listing more of the Centre’s welfare initiatives, Sitharaman said India launched the world’s largest food security programme while the provision of Re 1 sanitary pads was helping women and girls in rural areas.

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in Lucknow spoke of the management during the Covid-19 pandemic. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brijesh Pathak were also present at the event. Puri said, “During the Corona (Covid-19) period, when there was hardly any equipment and medicines to deal with the pandemic, India not only started making medical equipment but also gave vaccines free of cost to the countrymen and even exported vaccines to 130 countries.”

Speaking of the Ujjwala scheme, Puri said “14 crore gas connections were there in 2014 when the Modi government came into power”. After the launch of the scheme in 2016, the number of gas connections in the country at present was “more than 31 crore 50 lakhs”, he added.

Comparing the work done by previous governments and the nine years of the Modi government, Puri said that 74 new airports had become functional in the country.

Addressing the media in Ahmedabad, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur said the Modi government would retain power in the Lok Sabha polls next year by winning more than 300 seats.

માનનીય પ્રધાનમંત્રી શ્રી @narendramodi જીના નેતૃત્વમાં કેન્દ્ર સરકાર 9 વર્ષ પૂર્ણ કરી રહી છે તે અંતર્ગત યોજાનાર કાર્યક્રમો સંદર્ભે પ્રદેશ અધ્યક્ષ શ્રી @CRPaatil, મુખ્યમંત્રી શ્રી@Bhupendrapbjp અને કેન્દ્રીય મંત્રી શ્રી @ianuragthakur ની વિશેષ ઉપસ્થિતિમાં પત્રકાર પરિષદ યોજાઈ.(1/2) pic.twitter.com/FXWIhMlWrp

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He added, “Our government believes in sashaktikaran (empowerment) and not tushtikaran (appeasement). That is the reason why we gave 10% reservation to the Economically Weaker Sections. While we believe in serving people, some believe in indulging in politics. We will once again come to power by securing more than 300 seats in the Lok Sabha elections,” Thakur told reporters.

He added, “Before 2014, scams used to emerge at regular intervals. Today, every citizen feels the Modi government is his or her own government. We lifted 27% of poor citizens out of poverty. Four generations of Congress shouted the slogan garibi hatao (remove poverty) but did nothing. Our government gave security and dignity to the poor.”

Reacting to Mallikarjun Kharge’s statement that inflation had soared under the Modi government, Thakur challenged the Congress president to prove it using data. “Contrary to what Kharge says, India actually kept its inflation under control in comparison to the rate of inflation in the US and European countries. Despite the fact that there was no global crisis when Congress was in power, the rate of inflation was 12 to 14% in the country.”

The minister said the Congress should see their own data and then talk as during their rule, inflation and corruption were sky-high.

Addressing a press conference at the Delhi BJP office, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said during the Modi years India had forged its image as a self-reliant country while focusing on the upliftment and welfare of the poor. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has undergone surprising changes in the last nine years and established a self-reliant image,” he said.

Among the other Union Ministers who addressed press conferences were: Minister of State Meenakshi Lekhi, Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav, Fisheries Minister Bhupendra Yadav, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, and Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal.

(With inputs from PTI)