Cong spoke about poverty alleviation for 70 years, did nothing: Shah

Shah, during a one-day visit here, attended various events including a ‘Gaurav Utsav’ organised in the honour of tribal icons and erstwhile Gondwana ruler Shankar Shah and his son Raghunath Shah at Garrison Ground. 

''Congress always talked about tribal welfare in a bid to get their votes, but did not do anything for their well-being. Its intention was to divide tribal votes by fielding different parties and faces. But the BJP is committed and worked for the development of tribals whenever it got the mandate,'' he said at the Gaurav Utsav event. 

The BJP has provided various amenities to tribals including housing and power supply, the Union minister said, adding that the party was now trying to ensure household water supply for them so that they can lead an honourable life. 

Only Rs 4,200 crore were allocated for tribals in the 2013-14 Union budget of the UPA government, Shah claimed. 

''But the amount has now been raised to Rs 7,900 crore...The budget component for the tribal development under various ministries has also gone up to Rs 71,900 crore in 2021-22 from Rs 21,500 crore in 2013-14,'' he said. 

The coverage under scheduled tribal welfare works has been extended to 41 ministries. The Narendra Modi government set up 18 tribal research institutes in its first term and increased the number to 27 in the second term, he added. 

During the ongoing 75th anniversary celebrations of India's Independence, the Centre has decided to revive the memory of forgotten tribal leaders who fought and sacrificed their lives during the freedom struggle, he said. 

''Even before the 1857 rebellion, tribal warriors fought for freedom. Historians have forgotten these brave warriors. Nobody else sacrificed their lives for independence like our tribal warriors did,'' the Union minister said. 

Recalling the struggle of tribal warriors against Mughals and later British rulers in different parts of Madhya Pradesh and elsewhere, Shah said the Centre is going to set up nine museums and highlight these freedom fighters' contribution by spending Rs 200 crore. Rs 110 crore of this budget has been spent so far, he added. 

Earlier, Shah was welcomed by MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his cabinet colleagues at Dumna airport around noon. After that, he visited the memorial of Shankar Shah and his son Raghunath Shah located near Rani Durgawati Hospital, and paid floral tributes. 

The Union home minister also laid the foundation stone for a museum dedicated to the Gondwana rulers. The project is estimated to cost of Rs 5 crore. 

Later, Shah distributed cooking gas connections to women under Ujjwala 2.0, second phase of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). 

The Congress, during its 70-year rule, only spoke about removing poverty whereas the NDA government led by Modi was working for the uplift of the poor in the real sense, he said during the function. 

As many as five lakh domestic gas connections would be given in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, he said. In 2014, there were only 13 crore cooking gas connections in the country, mostly held by rich people, ''big officers'' and those living in cities, while elsewhere women depended on wood, kindling and cowdung for fuel and fell victim to fibrosis (due to the smoke these fuels produced), Shah said. 

When Modi, ''who hails from a poor family'', became prime minister, he ensured that cooking gas connections ''reached nine crore women,” he added. In 2014, some 20,000 villages did not have electricity poles and now the country has made rapid progress in the power sector, Shah said. 

Every family in the country would have a house by 2022, he stated. Speaking at a BJP function at Shahid Smarak in the city later, Shah slammed the Congress for seeking proof of surgical strikes against Pakistan. 

''Surgical strikes sent out a message across the world that nobody can touch our borders,'' he told a meeting of BJP's booth presidents. 

''But people in Congress said what is the proof? Rahul Baba (referring to Rahul Gandhi), many things do not have proof. I do not want to say more,'' he added. 

Congress may oppose Modi and BJP as much as it wants, but it should show solidarity in the matters of country's honour, development and security, Shah said. 

Prime minister Modi galvanized ''130 crore people of the country'' for the fight against coronavirus, he said, adding that in terms of vaccination figures, India is ahead of everyone which Congress does not accept. 

''You make jibes about this as well. (Congress says) Modi is doing politics. Our politics is to serve people. We don't have any other political ambition,” he added. 

Shah also criticized Congress for describing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as `Gabbar Singh Tax'. ''This law has been passed by the Indian Parliament and you are comparing it to a dacoit,” he added.