Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit out at the Congress, saying it could not understand for four decades after Independence how important it was to implement the Panchayati Raj system in villages.
“No concrete efforts were made to strengthen the Panchayati Raj institutions during the Congress rule,” he said after inaugurating via video conference the ‘Haryana Kshetriya Panchayati Raj Parishad’ workshop, a two-day BJP event being held in Faridabad’s Surajkund. The prime minister said the country today is moving ahead unitedly to realise the goal of a developed India and to fulfil the resolutions of ‘Amrit Kaal’ the period till the centenary of India’s independence.
“During the 25-year journey of this ‘Amrit Kaal’, we have to keep in mind the experiences of past decades. The Congress could not understand for four decades after Independence how important it was to implement the Panchayati Raj system in villages,” Modi said. They also left the Zila Panchayat system, established later, to its own fate, he added. “As a result, two-thirds of the country’s population living in villages were left longing for basic necessities such as roads, electricity, water, banks, and houses. This negligence is the very reason why, even after seven decades of independence, around 18,000 villages in the country still lack access to electricity,” Modi said.
Touching upon several steps taken for farmers’ benefit, the prime minister said, “Modi’s guarantees are not electoral promises. When Modi gives his guarantees, he translates them into reality on the ground.” BJP chief J P Nadda, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, state BJP chief O P Dhankhar, and other BJP leaders were present during the event in Surajkund, in which Zila Parishad chairpersons, Zila Panchayat heads, and others from various northern states connected with the BJP, including those from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, were among the 182 delegates present.
Hitting out at the Congress, Modi said no concrete efforts were ever made to strengthen the Panchayati Raj institutions during Congress rule, and most of the exercise remained limited to papers and figures. He added that Jammu and Kashmir is the biggest example of this.
In 2019, after Article 370 was scrapped, for the first time, elections from Gram Panchayats to district level were held. More than 33,000 representatives were elected, and for the first time, democracy at the grassroots was established there, he said. Today the country is moving ahead unitedly to realise the goal of a developed India and to fulfil the resolutions of Amrit Kaal, he said. The road to a developed India goes through tier 2 and tier 3 cities and through villages that are becoming modern, he said, adding that a new hope and energy are visible in the hinterland and in small towns.
