Last 5 years of BJP’s rule is hard work, says DefMin

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that the last five years have been historical in Independent India as they have witnessed the intense hard work by the government.

Addressing a meeting of booth-level workers of the BJP, Shakthi Kendra Pramukhs on JK Grounds, here, on Wednesday, she said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself lead by example and all ministers were just trying to catch up with his speed.

“The working of the BJP-led NDA government is so intense, diverse and full of energy that it is reaching the benefits to all sections of the people,” she said.

Referring to the recent remarks of the Congress leaders, including AICC president Rahul Gandhi, against the prime minister, she said that the opposition is desperate, without power.

“I don’t even want to utter the word (chor) that Gandhi slung at the PM. Is this how an opposition treats the nation’s PM? So, was it a drama, when Gandhi hugged the PM on the floor of the House? Besides, one can recall how Gandhi winked at his friends, after hugging the PM. Nowadays, winking is deemed to be bad manners,” she said.

‘Cong harping on Rafale’

“The decade-long UPA rule was full of scams. But, did the BJP leaders abuse then prime minister Manmohan Singh like this? There is not a single scam since Modi became prime minister. Despite clarifications by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Supreme Court, the Congress is still harping on Rafale. They are so corrupt that they can’t believe that any defence deal can happen without a middleman,” she said.

“Now, they want proof for the airstrikes by the Indian Air Force in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Their statements are hitting the headlines in Pakistan media, misleading the people. The enemies like Pakistan are happy. They want the price, make and details of Rafael jets to be made public. This is also to help the enemies, by making our defence secrets public,” said Nirmala.

She said, “Now, the Congress is raising concern about farmers and jobs. When the Congress-led UPA government waived off farm loans in 2008, the actual loans availed by the farmers amounted to Rs 6 lakh crore. But, the total loans waived off were just around Rs 53,000 crore. Besides, Swaminathan’s report states that loan waiver is not a solution to the farmers’ woes. It also states that a farm loan waiver within a span of 10 years is not good.”

Nirmala said, “The scheme of depositing Rs 6,000 into the accounts of the farmers directly is not a loan, but a minimum income with dignity. The intention of Modi is to empower the farmers, with a dependable income for sustenance.”

“When the opposition parties speak about jobs, they refer only to the organised sector. But, Modi is concerned about those in the unorganised sector. Thus, he launched the pension scheme for them. Now, the opposition parties are misleading the people, stating that the minimum income scheme of the farmers and the pension scheme for the workers would be withdrawn, if a different government comes to power. However, the schemes are permanent in nature and no future government can withdraw them,” she added.