Addressing a massive gathering, largely of those from tribal communities in south Gujarat villages, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid into the Congress for neglecting basic development initiatives for the poor, Dalits, tribals and women, despite ruling the country for long. Modi, who was present at the rally as part of what is said to be the Bharatiya Janata Party’s outreach campaign in his poll-bound home state, claimed that the “concern for distant forests is the culture of the BJP.”
"There was a time when the poor, Dalits, the deprived, tribals and women (in our country) used to spend their whole life in search of basic needs. During this time, those who ran the government did not make development their priority. They didn't do any developmental work in localities where it was needed the most, because it required a lot of hard work. The villages which were deprived of pucca roads were in tribal areas. Most of the poor families who got pucca houses, electricity, toilet and gas connections in (the last) eight years were my tribal brothers and sisters,” Modi said in Hindi, while addressing the gathering at Khudvel village in Navsari district.
This was Modi’s fourth visit to Gujarat in the past four months. On Friday, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the Astol project, which will supply tap water to tribal populations of over 4.50 population(what is this number?) in as many as 174 villages and 1,028 hamlets located sparsely all over the hills in Valsad district. He also laid the foundations for multiple development projects in Navsari, worth over Rs 3,000 crore.
He also inaugurated the AM Naik Healthcare complex and Niral Multi-Speciality Hospital in the district.
Published 10 June 2022, 19:01 IST