New Delhi : The Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah, today inaugurated a three-day National Conference on “Delivering Democracy: Two Decades of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Head of Government”, organised by the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini. Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
In his address, the Union Home Minister said that the people of India know the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the basis of his thoughts, work and achievements. Amit Shah said the hopes of the people of India for 75 years have been absorbed in one small phrase, ‘Delivering Democracy’. When the country became independent it was a correct decision by the Constituent Assembly to accept the system of multiparty democracy. In the late 1960s and by the year 2014, a very big question had clouded minds of the people and this was whether our multiparty democratic system will be successful. By 2014, the concept of Ram Rajya or Welfare State had collapsed. There was apprehension amongst the people as to whether our democratic parliamentary system had failed, it was not producing results and what would happen next and how. However, the people were very patient, because today we have reached this point as a nation that endured many things. In 2014, the people took the decision with great patience and voted a government with full majority after 30 years, with Narendra as the Prime Minister.
Shah said that by seeing the present status of a person, one should not judge him on the basis of it, but it should be seen with how much penance, struggle, sacrifice and hard work he has reached where he is. In 2001, our party decided that Narendra Modi would be the Chief Minister of Gujarat. At that time there was a big crisis after the earthquake and when we were trying to come to terms with this. When Modi became the Chief Minister, he tried to observe and understand the situation and he brought many changes. Nobody believed at that time that he can be a successful Chief Minister. He worked on reforms and transparency and according to him, changing the method is not reform, but changing the situation on the ground is reform. The biggest thing that Shri Modi did was to initiate an all-encompassing and all-inclusive development. The scope of development should be such that it is all-encompassing and the reach of the development should be such that it is all-inclusive and development should reach every individual, reach the last person and encompass all. He established this model of development and for development the biggest requisite is education. A country cannot develop with low literacy and it is the government’s responsibility to provide education to those with low literacy. They are the victims, as a person who does not know his Rights and Duties given by the Constitution, cannot become a partner in the development process.
Amit Shah said that when Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, the enrolment rate in primary school education was around 67 percent and the dropout rate was about 37 percent. An Enrolment rate of 100 percent was achieved due to his efforts, but he also made efforts to reduce the dropout rate and brought it to between 0 to 1 percent. Similarly, due to his efforts, Gujarat became the first state to have 24-hour power supply and as soon as electricity was available, many problems were solved and there were major changes in villages. Shri Shah said that agriculture should be linked with development, only then is development complete and agriculture is the biggest source of employment in our country even today and 70 percent of the country’s population is dependent on agriculture. Shri Narendra Modi started the Krishi Mahotsav to solve agriculture-related problems and the government itself reached 19,000 villages of Gujarat and provided whatever was required by farmers and as a result Gujarat achieved an average agricultural growth rate of 10 percent for ten years.
Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation said that during the 2014 elections, previous government had completed ten years and members of the cabinet would not consider the Prime Minister as the Prime Minister, but every person behaved as if he was the Prime Minister himself. There was policy paralysis, there was no guarantee of national security, and the country’s respect abroad was probably at its lowest, due to scams and corruption of Rs.12 lakh crore. Many questions confronted the nation on the internal security front and it seemed as if our democratic system would collapse any time. At that time our party decided that the Chief Minister of Gujarat would be our party’s prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 elections. This announcement brought about a new type of change in the country. Amidst several movements taking place at that time, this announcement brought about a new type of change in the country, turning anger into hope and we witnessed this. Only words like governance, reforms, good governance cannot alone solve problems of a country. The country not only faced problems of administration and economic growth, but also of its prestige and our culture had to be taken forward, the security of the country had to be ensured. A different approach was needed and it is only in a mass leader who has risen from the grassroots who can provide the changes required. There can be economic reform but its focus should be the poorest of the poor.
Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the value of the Indian passport and the pride of the country abroad. He said holistic development means ensuring the security of the country so that from a small child to an old man it is certain that no one can cast an evil eye on the country. The Union Home Minister said that we have set up such a security mechanism. There were attacks in Uri and Pulwama and the surgical strikes and air strikes sent a message across the world that India’s borders can no longer be tampered with. Shah said that you can also see this from the patriotic viewpoint, courage of Narendra Modi and security of the country.
The Union Home Minister said earlier the defense policy always remained in the shadow of foreign policy and Shri Narendra Modi clearly separated the defense and foreign policies. We want friendship with everyone, but we do not want any encroachment on our sovereignty. Shri Amit Shah said that economic reforms, good governance and poverty alleviation are necessary but successful governance cannot be explained by this. Our Constitution has set the goal of raising the standard of living of the poorest of the poor, making the country safe, prosperous, educated and cultured, advancing our culture and bringing pride to the country globally. When all these come together then a successful government is formed and the one who gives leadership to it becomes a successful ruler. Narendra Modi may consider himself as a Pradhan Sewak with great humility, but I can say that after Independence, if there has been a successful Prime Minister, then he is Narendra Modi.
Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has changed the size and scale of schemes. Giving an example, he said in earlier schemes the numbers said pucca houses would be provided to 10,000 people whereas Modi decided that every person will be provided a pucca house before 2022. Today policies are made not for individuals, groups, states or party but only and only in the interest of the country. He said after the 1960s, policies were made to suit the liking of the people, but Shri Narendra Modi’s policies are for the people’s benefit and he has taken policy decisions without fear of consequences.
The Union Home Minister said that there are only two main focal points of the decisions of the Modi government, one is the poorest person and citizen of India and the other is all remaining policies for India. The Home Minister said that Narendra Modi took many tough decisions like demonetisation. He said that many people were against it but Modi boldly took this decision so that the country should be taken towards e-payment and elimination of Black Money. He said people stood by the Prime Minister because he had no interest in the issue. After this it was decided to end Triple Talaq. The Rajiv Gandhi government took a decision on this and then reversed it, but Modi not only took the decision but also stood with it and has given rights to crores of Muslim women. Amit Shah said that at the same time the Modi government took the sensitive decision of One Rank One Pension. He said it is the responsibility of the State and the Government to protect families of those who guard the borders of the country in minus 45 to plus 45 degrees centigrade temperatures. The government also took the decision on the Chief of Defense Staff.
The Union Home Minister said that in 2019 Modi received the mandate and on 5 August 2019 he took the historic decision to abolish Articles 370 and 35A. He said that the decision to build the Ram Janmabhoomi was made by taking everyone along and without any violence in the country, today the work of temple construction is in progress. Amit Shah said that the Prime Minister has worked as the leading ambassador of Indian culture taken Yoga and Ayurveda onto the global stage by seeking the consent of 177 countries for Yoga Day. He said if anyone has given a speech in the United Nations by becoming the flag bearer of India’s culture, then it is our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The message of our Vedas and Upanishads of environmental protection has been placed in the global forum by Modi and the world accepted India’s leadership in the Paris Climate Conference, which resulted in the International Solar Alliance in Gurugram.
Amit Shah said the Prime Minister has given a different interpretation to the welfare of the poor. Modi has placed the human angle of GDP before the people. He said the rate of growth should increase, but the beneficiary should be the poor. Shah said construction of toilets worth Rs. 35,000 crore accelerate the speed of the economy and also helps 10 crore families to live with dignity. The Home Minister said Modi had seen his mother cooking and coughing in the smoke of a gasless stove, when gas cylinders under the Ujjwala Yojana reach 11 crore women, then the GDP increases and they are also empowered.
Amit Shah said recently we have crossed the target of 100 crore vaccines. He said there is not any national head could have had the courage to announce and implement both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine fully free of charge. Shri Shah said that by opening 43 crore bank accounts, the poor have been connected with the economy. So far, Rs. 19 lakh crore have been directly transferred into the accounts of the people through DBT. 80 crore people have been given five kgs. of wheat or rice per person free of cost for one and a half years during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission, MSP for farmers has been given 50 percent more than expenditure.
The Home Minister said Prime Minister Modi is sending Rs. 6,000 into farmers’ accounts every year. People demanded loan waivers but the government has made such type of arrangements so that they do not have to take loans. He said that the Modi government has done the work of making policies. Earlier there never were discussions for a drone policy, space was left to the ISRO. Today drones, Space, Mining and Coal Mining, Agriculture, Green, White and Blue Revolutions and New Education Policy have been brought. Shri Amit Shah said the New Education Policy will also give importance to our languages. He urged people across the country that parents should talk to their children in their own language. He said language is not just a means of employment but a means of expression and understanding the culture and history of the country.
The Home Minister said there is a radical change in the health policy so that health facilities reach the grass roots level. He said work is also being done for Jal Shakti and a ministry has been formed for this. The Home Minister said many steps have been taken to eliminate corruption. With government procurement through GeM, this process has become almost completely corruption-free and the scope of procurement is further increasing. Amit Shah said Modi has done remarkable work in the direction of a Self-reliant India through UPI and crores of people have joined in. The Prime Minister has also begun Mission Karmayogi for government employees so that they can contribute better to nation building.
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