Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, attended the PM Kisan Samman Sammelan in Varanasi, during which he hailed his supporters for upholding the mandate of democracy. “More than 31 crore women voters have participated in this election. This is the highest number of women voters in the world. This number is close to the entire population of America. This beauty, this strength of Indian democracy attracts and influences the whole world. I thank every voter of Varanasi for making the festival of democracy a success,” he said. Notably, this marked his first visit to the city after winning the third term.
He also emphasized that it was “rarely seen in the democratic countries of the world that an elected government returns for the third consecutive time. But this time the people of India have also done this.” The 73-year-old leader said that the election of BJP for a third term was something which was last seen 60 years ago.
During his visit, PM Modi also released the 17th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme. This initiative aims to provide financial benefits totalling over ₹20,000 crore to more than 9.26 crore farmers across the country. In addition, he also distributed certificates to over 30,000 self-help groups trained as Krishi Sakhis, who will act as agricultural extension workers.
Furthermore, he also reviewed the progress at the Dr Sampurnanand Sports Stadium. He also shared photographs from his visit, stating, “This stadium and sports complex will greatly help the youth of Kashi.”