Congress ignored tribals, didn’t know they existed: PM Modi in Bharuch

“Will you get another PM in the country, who would know where Jambusar is? Or Jhagadia? Can they (Congress) do anything good for Gujarat? Those who don’t even know what place is where… A person who is from your house, will stay with you in your happiness and pain, won’t he?” Modi said.

Modi, who attacked the Congress for “neglecting tribals” for most part of his speech, also enlisted the development projects in Bharuch that have a “direct impact on tribals”. “Earlier, before the BJP came into power in Gujarat, ration cards of the poor were siphoned using fake cards. Right from farmer benefits to scholarships or loans, the poor needed to pay commissions to seek their rights. Your application would move forward only if you knew someone.

Their (Congress) PM once said, ‘When I send a rupee from Delhi, only 15 paisa reaches the people.’ Now, you have a son in Delhi who sends you Re 1 and you get 100 paise in your account. We have paid Rs 400 crore to farmers of Bharuch,” Modi said.

Stating that the Congress’ ‘ecosystem’ of apathy for tribals came from their “lack of knowledge”, Modi said, “Were there no tribals in the time of Ram, Krishna, Shivaji Maharaj, Rana Pratap, freedom struggles in the 18th century? But the Congress did not know that there were tribals for so many years… It was BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who first created the Ministry for Tribal Development when he became a Prime Minister”.

The Prime Minister alleged that the Congress left the tribals to their fate and malnourishment. “The Congress ecosystem does not think of the pride of the tribals. I thought of the pride of tribals (as a chief minister).”

Modi also listed down the BJP government’s contributions to development, including building 10,000 schools in tribal areas, along with Eklavya schools, construction of toilets in schools as well as a network of science colleges and professional courses. He also added that as a Chief Minister, he launched the 108 ambulance service to ensure that tribals receive “immediate medical attention after snake bites” as well as programmes to counter sickle cell anemia.

“I will have to sit here for a week if I talk about the tribal development schemes. And now, the upcoming development in the area is going to directly benefit the tribals of Bharuch,” Modi said.

Stating the BJP had turned the political narrative to “development”, Modi said, “It is the BJP that has streamlined the politics of India on the path of development. Earlier, you would read news reports of corruption and other scams… Today, be it a party involved in casteism or involved in corruption, everyone has to come and speak about development because of the BJP. In Gujarat, people are asking them to keep aside all their other (narratives) and explain what they are going to do in Gujarat?”

Modi assured that the “fortunes” of the people will undergo a change after the connectivity from Bharuch with projects like the Ghogha-Dahej ro-ro ferry, six-lane road from Dahej to Hazira, and the upcoming Ankleshwar airport. “This election is about the contentment of Gujarat and the hope for upcoming development… Today, Bharuch has an engineering and medical college. You grew up in the backyard of Narmada but didn’t have water for irrigation in fields. The BJP resolved this issue. Be it milk production or any other development in the last 20 years — it has increased by two-and-half-times. The jump it has taken in Industrial development is more than smaller states of the country. There is no business that is not present in Bharuch,” the PM said.

Modi recalled that he used to roam around on a cycle in Bharuch.. “When I first entered politics, people from Bharuch would write letters to me, listing the smallest of their problems like streetlights.”