Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for most part of an hour-long speech at a mega rally in Uttar Pradesh, detailed how his government has spent the last year one year working for the poor.
“This government is dedicated to the poor,” said the PM who has been under sustained attack from the opposition Congress, which accuses his government of pursuing a reforms agenda that is “anti-poor” and “pro-big industry”.
The PM hit back at the Congress and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who has led the attack on Mr. Modi, without naming either. “These are achche din (good days) for many, but burey din (bad days) for some. It will only get worse… the time is up for those who looted the country” he said, listing what he said was a “scam everyday” during the Congress-led regime that preceded his.
“I will not be Pradhan Mantri (prime minister) but Pradhan Santri (prime guard),” the Prime Minister said adding, “We’ve ensured 100 paise of each rupee reaches the poor.”
He said he was in Chandrabhan, a village in Mathura about 160 km from Delhi, to give a report card for his 365 days as Prime Minister. It was the first in a series of 200 rallies the ruling BJP has planned to celebrate one year in office of the party’s government at the Centre.
The PM’s speech countered every charge that Mr. Gandhi and his party have levelled at him, including the allegation that his government has neglected farmers.
He listed what he said his government has done for farmers in the last year and promised to tide them over a urea crisis. “Urea production will rise by 20 lakh tons… Farmers will get as much urea as they want, when they want,” he said.
PM Modi’s chopper landed at a newly built heliport on Monday afternoon in Chandrabhan, the birth place of Deendayal Upadhyay, an ideologue of the Jan Sangh, from which the BJP sprang.
The PM said he chose Chandrabhan for his first rally over a big city because “In a small village here Pandit Deendayal was born. His message was – do not get tired, do not stop, do not bend…only keep working.”
