Oppn rattled by Modi's pro-poor initiatives: Union minister

Union minister Jitendra Singh today claimed that the Opposition was rattled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pro-poor initiatives.

On the one hand, the Opposition kept claiming that the Modi government had done nothing in the last four years and on the other hand, it was always obsessed with the work being done by the Centre, he said.

If, indeed, nothing was done by the Modi government, then the opposition leaders should rather be relieved, instead of getting so disturbed about it, Singh said, while addressing a programme organised here to mark the countrywide launch of the Centre's "Ayushman Bharat" health insurance scheme.

Singh said the opposition was making a confusing clamour as it had no answer when the people of the country wanted to know why successive governments could not accomplish, in over 65 years, what the Modi government had achieved in only four years.

Terming "Ayushman Bharat" a path-breaking initiative that would provide health security to millions and bring about a major transformation in the country's social and family culture, the Union minister of state at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) hoped that the scheme would benefit every nook and corner of Jammu and Kashmir.

Stating that the prime minister held a special concern for Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern states, he pointed out that of the 20,000 villages selected across the country for the 20-day "Gram Swaraj Abhiyan", 19 were in Udhampur district.

Singh said he was glad to note that the maximum targets were achieved in these villages with regard to the Centre's priority programmes such as the Ujjwala, Ujala, PM Aawas Yojana, Swachh Bharat (ODF) etc.

As regards Udhampur, he said the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for cleaning the Devika river at a budget of Rs 170.50 crore was ready and that it was submitted after obtaining an appraisal and endorsement from IIT, Roorkee.

As for the radio station, the civil work was in progress and it was hoped that the construction and installation would be complete by the year-end, the Union minister said.

Udhampur Deputy Commissioner Ravinder Kumar, senior officers of the administration and senior functionaries of the state Health department were present on the occasion.