Not just a few names, every citizen worked for India's progress: PM Modi

In a veiled attack on the Congress party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that every citizen has worked for India's progress and not just a few names.

"There are some people who feel only a few names contributed to national progress. They only want to hear those few names and ignore the others. We think differently, we feel each and every citizen has worked for India's progress," he said in his reply to the debate on the President's Address' in the Lok Sabha.

"We did not divert from our development path, we did not dilute our development agenda. It is important that the country progresses, every Indian is empowered and our nation has modern infrastructure. We believe in public welfare and modern infrastructure," the Prime Minister said.

He criticised the Congress for ignoring former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.

"Before 2004, Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was there. I challenge the government that was in power between 2004-2014 to mention if they ever praised the work of Atal Bihari Vajpayee government? Did they ever speak about the good work of Narasimha Rao? The same people did not even speak of Manmohan Singh in Lok Sabha in this debate," Modi said.

He said that the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and 75 years of India's freedom are "landmark occasions in the history of India."

"During the freedom struggle, brave women and men died for the nation. This led to Independence. Today, we have to live for the nation and build the India our freedom fighters dreamt of. I urge everyone to observe Gandhi 150 and 75 years of India's freedom with great vigour," he said.