Be Proud of pro-poor measures: Modi

The Hindu, April 20, 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday told the BJP parliamentary party: ?Don?t measure us on the scale of rajniti [politics] but on rashtraniti [nationalism].?

He was outlining the government?s poverty alleviation programmes at a day-long workshop of the parliamentary party.

?Be more vocal?

?Our path is clear: we are working in the direction of fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the poor,? he said, urging the party MPs to be more vocal and visible in Parliament and outside about government initiatives.

Expressing confidence that the second part of the Budget Session will be productive, the Prime Minister asked his party MPs to come out of the ?Opposition mould? and go into the session ?holding their head high? for the pro-poor measures taken by the government since it came to power last May.

Noting that the productivity of Parliament had reached ?125 per cent? since his government came to power, Mr. Modi expressed the hope that the session will be full of outcomes.

?It is more beneficial if the Opposition attacks the government inside Parliament,? he added.

Mr. Modi seized the occasion to lament that some sections of the media were so taken up with being critical of his government that its achievements such as the recent evacuation of Indians from strife-torn Yemen and getting uranium supply from Canada and nuclear reactor technology from France during the Prime Minister?s recent visit to these countries were underplayed.

He lauded External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State V.K. Singh for the successful operation in Yemen.

Stressing on the ?Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao?? campaign, Mr. Modi observed that unless Muslim, Dalit, Adivasi and backward community girls were educated, the country will not progress.

He made a special mention of the programmes for housing, pension, Jan Dhan Yojna and direct subsidy for LPG cylinders. He also talked of the decision to raise compensation for crop damage.

Asserting that India was being looked at as the fastest growing economy, he spelt out the figures to show that inflation had gone down in the last one year and growth was up.

Stormy session likely
Bracing to face a stormy session over several issues including the Land Acquisition Bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu asked MPs to be present in the House throughout the session.

The party indicated that the government may go ahead with the Land Bill and may exercise the option of a joint sitting of Parliament to ensure passage of the legislation.

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