Previous govts deprived people of even basic amenities: PM Modi..

 Previous govts deprived people of even basic amenities: PM Modi..

LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi mounted a scathing attack on the previous Congress government accusing it of pursuing a “lackadaisical approach” that forced the people to spend their entire energy on fulfilling basic needs while being deprived of achieving big goals.

Speaking virtually at the launch of the second phase of Ujjawala scheme from Mahoba in Bundelkhand, PM Modi said that it was highly “unfortunate” that the brunt of this callous approach was borne by poor women. “People can turn their dreams into reality only when they achieve the confidence of getting basic amenities like LPG, road, electricity, water and toilets, which was not the case for the past many decades,” he said.

The PM said that after coming to power in 2014, his government decided to address the problems of people within a stipulated time while working on a “mission mode”. “Our mothers and daughters will be able to achieve big things only when they come out of the kitchen and homes,” he said, while referring to the Ujjwala and other people welfare schemes initiated by the government.

Raising a nationalist pitch, Modi said that the second phase of the Ujjwala scheme was being launched from the heroic land of Mahoba which is identified with the bravery of freedom fighters like Rani Laxmi bai, Rani Durgawati and Maharaja Chhatrasal. The first phase, too, he pointed out, was started in 2016 from Ballia, the land associated with Mangal Pandey, who is acknowledged as a forerunner of the freedom struggle movement. The second phase also coincided with the world biofuel day.

Modi chose Mahoba to launch the second phase of Ujjwala just a few months ahead of the UP assembly elections due next year. The scheme, launched on May 1, 2016, is said to have played a crucial role in BJP's stupendous victory in 2017 UP assembly elections. During Ujjwala-1 a target was set to provide LPG connections to 5 crore women members of BPL households. Subsequently, the scheme was expanded in April 2018 to include women beneficiaries from SC/ST, most backward classes, tea garden workers and forest dwellers. The target was also revised to 8 crore LPG connections.

Modi said that the Ujjwala scheme turned out to be a big relief for women during the pandemic induced lockdown when people were required to stay indoors. At the same time, the infrastructure of the LPG has grown manifold. In the past seven years, nearly 11,000 LPG distribution centres were opened. “In UP alone, the number of centres doubled from less than 2,000 in 2014 to more than 4,000 as on date,” the PM said, adding that this not only increased the employment opportunity but also allowed the government to inch closer to cent per cent LPG coverage. Modi said that the number of new gas connections in the last seven years were more than the total LPG connections in the country till 2014.

The PM said that in Ujjwala-2, migrants will not be required to submit ration cards or address proof. A self-declaration for both ‘family declaration’ and as a ‘proof of address’ will suffice. “This will mainly help the migrants who move out of their home districts in search of work,” he said. The second phase of the scheme also has the provision to provide a free gas stove and one complimentary refill.