Ravishankar Prasad takes dig at oppn, asks them to "stay calm"

Union minister Ravishankar Prasad today took a swipe at opposition parties, including Congress, apparently over the din in Parliament over various issues in recent days, asking them to "stay calm and relax" even as he dubbed their attitude as "sickening and shocking."
"(They have) no introspection, no consideration and no realisation. They are acting as opposition for the sake of opposition in spite of being rejected by the people repeatedly.
"'Thoda shaant rahiye' (maintain some calm). People have defeated you. Relax...Take some rest," the Communications and Information Technology Minister said in a dig aimed at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD boss Lalu Prasad Yadav, and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar for seeking to "make an issue of everything."

Prasad was addressing a meeting of BJP workers at the Shyam Prasad Mukherjee Bhavan here this evening.
"It was sickening and shocking but we are not bothered as the government's only focus is on developing India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's direction is to lead India forward...From the north, south, east and west. Our only aim is to develop India on all fronts," he said.
"From being in power, Sonia Gandhi has been reduced to just 44 (seats in Lok Sabha), Lalu fell from 40 to just four while Nitish plunged from a high to a mere two seats. Mulayam's has become a one-family affair with his son as chief minister, daughter-in-law, nephews and other kin," Prasad said.

He said the Prime Minister wanted governance on mobile and ensure electronic delivery of services to all citizens.

"Our objective is to develop a Digital India wherein 2.5 lakh village Panchayats across the country will have linked to the broadband. We will do it in the next three-and-a-half years," the minister said.
"It took 25-30 years to create a broadband network of 10 lakh kilometers. Now, we will add 60 lakh km in 3.5 years. You see the speed and the scale," he said.
Stating that there were 90 crore mobile phone users and 30 crore internet users in the country, Prasad said the PM wanted governance on mobile so that people get electronic delivery of services. "For this, required digital infrastructure has to be built," he added.

Prasad said that so far eight crore people across the country have opened bank accounts under the 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana'.
"There has been a tremendous response to the scheme as people even in remote villages are opening their bank accounts. Our target is to open 10 crore bank accounts by January 26," he added.