We have given new deminesion to Antyodaya: PM | Lucknow News

Lucknow: PM Narendra Modi said his govt intended to give Jan Sangh leader Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s vision of `Antyodaya’ (uplifting the poorest of the poor), a new dimension through what he called “saturation of welfare schemes” while ensuring there remains no discrimination between various communities in the country.“We have given a new dimension to Antyodaya (uplifting the poorest of the poor) through saturation. Saturation means making an effort to bring every needy person and every beneficiary under the ambit of govt welfare schemes… when there is a spirit of saturation, there is no discrimination),” Modi said after inaugurating Rashtra Prerna Sthal in Lucknow on Thursday.

“And this is what good governance, social justice and real secularism is all about,” he said, stressing that it was the first time that people of the country were getting a house, toilet, water, electricity, ration, gas connection and medical treatment “without any discrimination”.In the last one decade over 25 crore people have come out of poverty, he said.“Our govt gave priority to the people who were left behind in the road to development and social welfare,” the PM said, stressing that the number of people getting social cover of govt has grown from 25 crore before 2014 to around 95 crore at present. He said that just like bank account, insurance cover was limited to few well off families. “We insured insurance cover for the last mile person,” he said, highlighting the PM Jeevan Jyoti scheme envisaging life cover of Rs 2 lakh to the beneficiaries. As many as 25 crore poor people are connected with the scheme. Likewise PM Surkasha Bima Yojana has 55 crores associated. “These people are those who could not even think of insurance,” he said, adding that a claim of around Rs 25000 crores has been rolled out over the past few years.He also attacked Congress’s slogan of `Gareebi Hatao’ and setting it as a benchmark of governance. “It was Atal Behari Vajpayee who brought good governance to the grassroots in real terms. It was Vajpayee govt which worked towards digital identity of people, in what has now been popularised in the form of Aadhaar,” he said.Modi also credited Vajpayee for ushering in the telecom revolution which has eased the reach of phones and internet to every household. “Today India is worlds’ biggest user of mobile and internet in the world,” he noted.“Atal ji would be happy to see that India is the world’s second largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the country. And UP, which he represented as a parliamentarian, is the country’s biggest manufacturer of mobile phones,” he said.Modi said that the Vajpayee vision of connectivity gave strength to the country at the beginning of 21st century. “It was under his government that the work of giving road connectivity to every village was taken up,” he said. The PM said that since 2000 around 8 lakh Kms of roads have been constructed in the villages.Modi stressed that it was Vajpayee who initiated the work of Metro rail in Delhi. Earlier in the day Modi posted on X account: “The birth anniversary of the revered Atal Ji is a special occasion for all of us to draw inspiration from his life. His conduct, grace, intellectual fortitude, and unwavering commitment to placing the nation’s interests above all else set an exemplary standard for Indian politics. He demonstrated through his life that greatness is established not by position, but by character, and it is character that guides society.“Modi hailed Syama Prasad Mukherjee for playing a decisive role in guiding the country. “He rejected the concept of two flags, two constitutions, and two heads of state in the country,” he said, stressing that even after independence, article 370 in J&K remained a major challenge to the integrity of India.“We feel proud of getting the opportunity to dismantle the wall of Article 370,” he said.Modi said that as the first industry minister of independent India, Mukherjee laid the foundation of economic self-reliance in India. “He gave the country its first industrial policy. Today, we are taking the mantra of self-reliance to new heights. Made in India goods are reaching all over the world today,” the PM said.The PM said that the inspiration of Mukherjee, Updhayay and Vajpayee and their visionary works were the foundation of “Viksit Bharat”. Remembering Maharaja Bijli Pasi on his birth anniversary, Modi said that the Dalit icon left behind a legacy of bravery, good governance, and inclusivity. “It is also a coincidence that Atal Bihari Vajpayee issued a postage stamp in honor of Maharaja Pasi in 2000,” he said.