For us, ‘Garibi Hatao’ is not just a slogan, claims Modi

Manas Dasgupta

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Ahmedabad, March 5

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today attacked the Congress for giving only slogans but ignoring the plight of the millions of poor in the country.

Referring to the “Garibi Hatao” slogan given by former PM Indira Gandhi, Modi said it was just a slogan for the Congress because for its leaders poverty was just a “mental condition” and the party was never serious about removing it. He claimed that it was the first time since independence that his government was implementing schemes to really benefit the poorest sections whose plight was ignored by the rulers all these years.

“I have personally experienced poverty and the plight of the poor. I know you are constantly worried about your future when old age will not allow you to use your hands to earn. For me, “Garibi Hatao” is not a slogan. I am serious about securing your future when even your kin may not look after you,” Modi said on the second day of his two-day visit to Gujarat where he launched the “Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan Yojana” pension scheme for labourers in the unorganised sector.

More than 42 crore labourers in the unorganised sector, including domestic workers, street vendors, agricultural and construction workers, landless labourers and others would be able to join the scheme to earn a minimum pension of Rs3,000 on attaining the age of 60 years. Under the scheme, the beneficiary would have to contribute between Rs55 and Rs200 per month with a matching grant coming from the Centre.

“I am the first labourer of the country. I am such a chowkidar that I do not allow middlemen to corner all benefits, leaving nothing for the poor,” he said, cautioning people against middlemen who, pushed to the sidelines, had joined hands with the clamour for “Modi Hatao” campaign. “They want to strike Modi but I want to strike terror. They want to remove this chowkidar but I want to fight poverty,” he said.

At a “Pran-Pratistha ceremony” of Goddess Annapurna, Modi decried the present trend of the government taking over the responsibilities of social welfare activities. “The previous governments slowly started taking over the social responsibilities... We have reversed the trend.”