If MPs focus on constituencies, country will improve: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the country would automatically improve if all Members of Parliament (MPs) focus on their constituencies.

Shah, on a two-day visit of his home state Gujarat, attacked the Congress over the issue of poverty eradication and said the country's oldest party paid only lip service and hardly did anything to improve the condition of the poor.

Addressing a gathering in Mahatma Mandir here, the BJP president said, "If all MPs focus on their constituencies, the condition of entire country would improve automatically.

"I am lucky...past MPs of this seat (his Lok Sabha seat Gandhinagar), be it Atal Bihari Vajpayee or L K Advani, have already built a strong foundation here. This has made my work as an MP easier," he said.

He added, "My priority will always be Gandhinagar seat and its people. My aim is to make it the best constituency in the country. I will try to make sure to be with you whenever you need me," Shah said in his address.

Shah was here to lay foundation stones and inaugurate various projects worth over Rs 400 crore, including a shelter home, an integrated command and control facility, three newly developed gardens as well as water supply and road widening schemes.

At the event, Shah also handed over keys of houses to the beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Awas Yojna in Gandhinagar, besides handing out Ayushman Bharat health scheme cards.

Heaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said only a leader like him could think of a healthcare scheme (like Ayushman Bharat) which benefits 50 crore citizens.

"Under Ayushman Bharat, around 50 crore people will get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. Only someone who took birth in a poor family can think of starting such a scheme. Narendra Modiji always thinks about the poor as he belonged to a poor family," said Shah.

Taking a swipe at the Congress, the BJP chief said, "For many years, the Congress only did lip service by saying 'garibi hatao (remove poverty). But they only removed the poor. If they had really done something, we may not have been launching these schemes today.