Poor feel empowered when they get pucca houses, gas cylinders from govt schemes, says Modi

Lucknow: Taking a dig at the Congress governments of the past for what he hinted was merely rolling out hollow slogans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the poor felt empowered when they got 'pucca house' (brick house) and the welfare schemes launched by the government.

Speaking at the 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra' in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, Modi said that he felt satisfied and happy when told by someone that he had been benefited by the welfare schemes. ''One sister said that there is now no difference between rich and poor....one gets confidence when he has a pucca house...it's not only just a roof or walls but the confidence,'' he said.

"Our parents faced many problems but we must ensure that the children don't face those difficulties...no parents want their child to be uneducated," the prime minister said.

Modi said that the 'Viksit Sankalp Yatra' was not a political one but it is the work of the nation. "The yatra should be welcomed where it goes....those who have been benefited should tell others about it...it will spread goodness," he added.

The prime minister also had a dig at the 'garibi hatao' (remove poverty) slogan coined by the Congress saying that mere slogans did not remove poverty. ''Poverty is eradicated by work and delivering the benefits to the poor,'' he added.

Modi, who did not name the Congress, said that his government was committed to deliver what had not been done by the past governments. He also highlighted the welfare schemes launched by the centre and said that four crore families had received 'pucca houses' during the past few years. 

The prime minister later inaugurated the second edition of the 'Tamil Samagam' at Namo Ghat on the bank of the Ganga. A large number of students and priests from Tamil Nadu, who arrived there from Tamil Nadu, chanted 'Har Har Mahadev' when the prime minister reached there.

He inaugurated the first edition of the ''Kashi-Tamil Sangamam'' in Varanasi last year. The 'Sangamam', was aimed at strengthening the cultural bonds between Kashi and Tamil Nadu.