Dwarka- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the opposition Congress, saying its entire strength was used to ensure the progress of just one family.
All kinds of scams used to take place under the Congress regime, Modi said, adding that his government stopped all those things in the last 10 years.
The Congress lacked the will and intention to provide amenities to people, he said.
The PM was speaking after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for various projects in Dwarka, including India’s longest cable-stayed bridge between Okha and Beyt Dwarka here in Gujarat.
“Those who ruled the country for a long time did not have the will power, intention and dedication to provide amenities to the common people,” Modi said.
“The entire strength of the Congress has been used to take one family forward. If everything was to be done only for one family then how would one remember to build the country? Its (Congress) entire energy was focused on how to run the government for five years and how to hide scams,” Modi said.
The Congress could make India’s economy only the 11th largest because the party did not have the capacity to fulfil big dreams of the people of a vast nation, Modi said.
His government’s commitment to put an end to all scams has resulted in the country’s progress and the creation of grand infrastructure like the longest cable-stayed bridge connecting Beyt Okha and mainland Okha, the PM pointed out.
“Sudarshan Setu” boasts of a unique design, featuring a footpath adorned with verses from Srimad Bhagavad Gita and images of Lord Krishna on both sides.
On the ‘Sudarshan Setu’, the PM said he laid the foundation stone for this bridge six years ago and inaugurated it today.
“This is Modi’s guarantee,” he added.
When the economy was small, it did not have the capacity to fulfil huge dreams of a vast nation, he said, adding that whatever little budget was earmarked for infrastructure was looted by way of scams.
When the time came to improve telecom infrastructure, the Congress created the 2G scam and when it was time to strengthen sports infrastructure, the Congress created the Commonwealth scam, the PM said.
When it was the time to strengthen the defence infrastructure, the Congress indulged in the helicopter and submarine scam, he added
“The Congress can only betray every need of the country. In 2014, when you all blessed me and sent me to Delhi, I had promised you all I will not let the country be looted. Scams worth several thousands of crores that used to happen during the Congress era have all been stopped,” he asserted.
In the last 10 years, his government has made the country’s economy the fifth largest in the world, and as a result such grand and divine constructions are taking place all over, which was creating “the new picture of new India”, he said.
The sea bridge (Atal Setu) in Mumbai, the (railway) bridge on Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir, the under construction vertical lift bridge in Tamil Nadu and a river bridge in Assam are examples of such mega projects, he pointed out.
The PM said he was fortunate to get a chance to inaugurate the bridge, the foundation stone of which he had laid six years ago.
“The bridge will connect Beyt Dwarka island to Okha mainland and add to the beauty of the place. Whatever was dreamed of, and whose foundation stone was laid was fulfilled. This is the guarantee of Modi, a servant of the public,” he asserted.
The ‘Sudarshan Setu’ is not just another bridge but an engineering marvel that will reduce dependency of tourists and pilgrims on ferry boats.
“Modern connectivity is a way to build a prosperous and strong nation,” the PM reiterated.
As chief minister of Gujarat, he had placed the idea of such a bridge in front of the (Congress-ruled) Centre several times but the latter never paid attention to it, Modi said.
Asserting that several tourist and pilgrimage spots in Gujarat had been improved leading to these become favoured places for international tourists, he asked people to ensure cleanliness of Dwarka for tourists.
Out of 85 lakh tourists who visited India, a fifth visited Gujarat.
“Till August last year, 15.5 lakh tourists visited Gujarat. The e-visa facility for international tourists has helped Gujarat, and created new opportunities of employment and self-employment,” he said.
Inaugurates 5 New AIIMS
Development was taking place under his government at a rate many times faster than what happened in the past six to seven decades, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, and emphasised that his guarantee begins from where hope ends from others.
He was speaking after inaugurating All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rajkot in Gujarat, Bathinda in Punjab, Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, Kalyani in West Bengal and Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh.
At the function held here, the PM also dedicated to the nation various development works costing Rs 48,000 crore, including more than 200 health care infrastructure projects costing Rs 11,500 crore in 23 states and Union Territories.
“Modi’s guarantee begins from where hope ends from others,” he asserted, adding that even the country was saying this looking at the pace of development.
“For 50 years after Independence, there was only one AIIMS in the country, and that too in Delhi. In the seven decades since Independence, only seven AIIMS were approved but even these were never completed,” Modi said in a swipe at previous governments.
“But in just 10 days, seven new AIIMS were either inaugurated or their foundation stones laid. That’s why I am saying that we are developing the country many times faster than what happened in the last six to seven decades and are dedicating it at the feet of the citizens,” he said.
In the past, people from different states used to get tired seeking AIIMS in their areas from the Union government, whereas today modern hospitals and medical facilities like AIIMS are opening one after the other, he said.
Asserting that he had fulfilled his guarantee of setting up a large number of AIIMS, Modi said his government had approved 10 AIIMS in the last 10 years.
“I had given a guarantee of (setting up) AIIMS to UP’s Raebareli. The royal family of Congress only indulged in politics in Raebareli, while the work was done by Modi,” he said.
India managed to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic because of changes in the health care system brought about in the last 10 years, the PM said.
“Today in Rajkot we got a glimpse of how the health sector of the world’s fifth largest economy should be and what will be the level of health facilities in developed India,” he said.
Modi said his government had carried out unprecedented expansion in AIIMS and medical colleges as well as critical infrastructure network by opening more than one lakh ‘Ayushman Arogya Mandirs’ in villages, and taking the number of medical colleges to 706 from 308-309 a decade back.
The number of MBBS and medical PG seats have increased during this period to more than one lakh and 70,000, respectively, from 50,000 and 30,000, he informed.
The priority of his government was towards prevention of diseases by increasing the capacity to fight them, the PM said.
“We have focused on nutrition, Yoga, AYUSH and cleanliness so that diseases can be prevented,” he said.
Two hospitals and research centres for Yoga and naturopathy have been inaugurated in Maharashtra and Haryana as part of such efforts, the PM said.
It is the constant endeavour of the Union government to ensure the poor and the middle class get quality medical treatment, he said.
The Ayushman Bharat scheme has helped the poor save Rs 1 lakh crore, while medicines at 80 per cent discount have helped the poor and the middle class save Rs 30,000 crore, the PM told the gathering.
The Ujjwala Yojana (to provide clean fuel through LPG connections) has helped poor families save Rs 70,000 crore, he said.
Cheaper data has helped every mobile phone user save Rs 4,000 every month, and tax reforms have helped taxpayers save Rs 2.5 lakh crore, the PM said.
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