India aspires for corruption-free, development-oriented government, says BJP chief Nadda

JAIPUR: India today aspires for a corruption-free and development-oriented government, BJP National President JP Nadda said on Wednesday and claimed that the country has progressed at a fast pace under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Nadda made the remarks while addressing a public meeting in Rajasthan's Jhalawar.

"Today, India's aspiration is that there should be a corruption-free government. There should be a development-oriented government. The country progressed at a fast pace under the leadership of Modi ji," Nadda said.

Through unimagined development, India should stand as a "developed country", he said.

The BJP leader also claimed the situation in villages has changed under Modi's leadership. There were 18,000 villages with no electricity, which became electrified after Modi became prime minister in 2014.

Highlighting the development works done by the BJP-led Centre, Nadda said 3.5 lakh villages have been connected by paved roads. Eighty crore people are being given free ration, resulting in lifting 25 crore people above the poverty line.

He said 55 crore people -- about 40 per cent of the population, including the poor, rickshaw-pullers, tea vendors, bus drivers, and cleaners -- have been given a yearly insurance facility of Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat for serious illnesses.

In Rajasthan, the Lok Sabha elections will be held in two phases during this month.