Govts before 2014 didn't work wholeheartedly to create welfare state: Shah

Governments before 2014 worked piecemeal while trying to achieve the Constitutional objective of a welfare state but this concept was turned into reality by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Amit Shah said on Saturday.

Shah said Modi understood the mantra that "development of India cannot happen until its 60 crore population remains poor", and worked to lift 25 crore people from poverty in the last 10 years.

"However, a government can never do such a big work alone. If trusts, individuals, and service organisations come together, we will soon come out of this problem," the Union Home Minister said while addressing a gathering at the annual Gujarat Lok Seva Trust event in Ahmedabad.

Following a very learned debate, Constituent Assembly president Rajendra Prasad had concluded that establishing a welfare state should be the basic purpose of the Constitution, Shah said.

The basic objective of creating a State by ensuring the welfare of every person, equal development, and the life of dignity for every family was subsequently decided, he said.

"Every government (before 2014) had done as much as it can in its tenure (to achieve the welfare state goal), but my analysis as a student of statistics says that before 2014, everyone worked piecemeal," Shah said.

Shah, who also holds the Cooperation portfolio, said governments in the past brought schemes to build houses for the poor and talked about providing drinking water, gas cylinders, health facilities, and free ration piecemeal. Still, it was Narendra Modi who made the welfare state concept a reality.

"After he was elected as Narendra Modi by the people in 2014, Modi resolved that there would not be a single house without a toilet and that not a single person would be without a home and a gas cylinder.

"He resolved that nobody is forced to sleep empty stomach and distributed 5 kg grains to 65 crore people free every month. This is unprecedented anywhere in the world," Shah said.

Modi ensured that the concept of a welfare state envisioned by the makers of the Constitution became a reality by facilitating the provision of basic facilities to 60 crore people since 2014, he added.

"The result is that today 25 crore out of 60 crore people have come out of the UN definition of poverty in 10 years. Still, I believe that the government can never do such a big work alone," Shah said.

He said if various trusts, individuals, and service organisations come together, India will soon come out of this problem (of poverty).

He said Gujarat led the country with several educational institutions and gurukuls collaborating in their own way to work in this direction (of poverty eradication).

"Gujarat leads with a maximum number of beds in charitable hospitals, organises the highest number of blood donation camps in proportion to its population, and has many people registered for organ donation," Shah said.

He praised the Gujarat Lok Seva Trust, which is celebrating the 35th year of its foundation.

He congratulated Rohan Gupta, who had quit the Congress after he was fielded in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and joined the BJP. Gupta's family runs the Lok Seva Trust.

Shah quoted Swami Vivekanand on the virtue of selfless service for society and true wisdom.

He also mentioned his meeting with cricketer Vinod Kambli, who told him that teaching kids how to play cricket gives him the greatest joy.