Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s flagship schemes have saved precious lives and improved dignity. He quoted a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, which found at least three lakh children had been saved from diseases like diarrhoea because of the government’s cleanliness drive.
Modi referred to another report to say that five crore people had come out of poverty in the last four years. He promised to do more in the social sector.
“Housing for all, power for all, cooking gas for all, water for all, sanitation for all, skill for all, health for all, insurance for all and connectivity for all,” Modi promised in his Independence Day speech.
Since he came to power in May 2014, the Prime Minister has introduced schemes such as Swachh Bharat, Ujjwala for free cooking gas connections and Ujala for free LED bulbs.
“When I talked about cleanliness from the ramparts of (Delhi)’s Red Fort in 2014, some people made fun. Some of them even said the government had many things to do, why is it wasting its energy on an issue like cleanliness,’’ he said. “But, my dear brothers and sisters, in a recent report, the WHO stated that because of the cleanliness campaign, three lakh children were saved.’’
Modi said the credit for saving the lives goes to every Indian who was a part of this campaign. “Saving the lives of three lakh children of the poor is surely a great humanitarian act and the world bodies are recognising it.”
Modi said the economic development was important but “human dignity is supreme”. He underlined that some of his schemes had resulted in better living conditions.
“Without human dignity, no country can move forward in a balanced way. So to protect human dignity, we have to move ahead with those schemes which will ensure respectable lives for people. The policies, traditions and intentions should be such that ordinary people, including the poorest of the poor, can get a chance to live with equal dignity,” he said.
Modi added that the Ujjwala scheme had benefitted almost five crore households. He also spoke about electricity supply under the Saubhagya Yojana.
First Published: Aug 15, 2018 23:44 IST
Source: HindustanTimes