‘BJP is working for the uplift and empowerment of poor and farmers in the State’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Saturday that to glorify one family, deliberate attempts were being made to belittle the contributions of other towering leaders in nation-building, as he paid rich tributes to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

In a veiled attack on the Congress in a State going to the polls later in the year, he said the party was spreading “lies, confusion and pessimism” and was cut off from the ground reality.

“It is unfortunate that to glorify one family, deliberate attempts were made to belittle the contributions of other towering personalities in the country,” Mr. Modi said at a public meeting after launching the Mohanpura irrigation project in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh.

‘Distrust of people’

He said the party which ruled the country for the most years never trusted the people and their hard work. When the Congress ruled the state, Madhya Pradesh was called a BIMARU state, but the BJP government pulled the State out of that tag. “The Congress never saw this as an insult to the people of the State. The BJP had worked hard to remove this tag,” he said.

Mr. Modi said that in the past four years at the Centre and 13 years in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP had worked for the uplift and empowerment of poor, farmers and deprived sections of society.

“In the past four years, we never spoke of frustration and dismay. We are the ones who are marching ahead with confidence,” he said, adding that people believed in the BJP and its government, which was working for their welfare.

“People trust the BJP and its government. Your huge presence here is a proof of it. But those spreading lies, confusion and pessimism are cut off from the ground reality.”

Recalling Mookerjee’s contribution to the country, Mr. Modi said, “His vision inspires us even today and helps us come out of despondency.” As Independent India’s first Industries and Supplies Minister (in the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet), he framed the nation’s maiden industrial policy, the Prime Minister said. Mookerjee believed that the government should fulfil the dreams of its people and improve the life of the poor, Mr. Modi said.

His thoughts and actions for the country’s industrial policy, things he had done in the areas of education, women empowerment and nuclear policy were far ahead of his times and they were still relevant, the Prime Minister said.

Pat for Chouhan

Praising Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Prime Minister said when the BJP came to power in the State, the irrigation capacity of the state was 7.5 lakh hectares. “But it rose to 40 lakh hectares in 2018 and the State government is working on expanding it further to 80 lakh hectares by 2024,” he said.

He said the State’s agricultural average growth rate had been 18% in the past five years, which was the highest in the country.

Mr. Modi said soil health cards were given to 14 crore farmers in the country, including 1.25 crore in Madhya Pradesh.

The Prime Minister highlighted achievements of various other schemes including Crop Insurance Scheme, Ujjwala Yojana, and making mandis online under eNAM project.