Five crore people came out of poverty: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday claimed that five crore poor people had come out of poverty in the four years that the NDA has been in power and that the lives of three lakh children have been secured through the 'Swachh Bharat' campaign.

Interacting with BJP workers in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh and the city through the "Narendra Modi App", he said that the government was determined to bring the last man in the queue to mainstream development in the country.

"In the last four years, five crore poor have come out of poverty," Modi said.

"Now, the common man can fly through our 'Udaan' scheme. The government has built in four years more number of toilets than constructed in last 70 years since independence," he added.

Citing a World Health Organisation report, the Prime Minister said that by running the cleanliness campaign (Swachh Bharat Abhiyan) the lives of three lakh children have been saved.

"Our country is now moving ahead with speed," he said.

Speaking about the 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas' in Varanasi between January 21 and 23, he appealed to the residents of the holy city: "We need to demonstrate to them Kashi's spirituality and the Indian culture. To make the event a success and to give Kashi a world identity, every citizen should contribute."

Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth will inaugurate the event, which is likely to see significant participation of the Indian diaspora from across the world.

Modi also appealed for making the "Swachhata hi Sewa" campaign a success.

--IANS

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