Narendra Modi govt brought back growth and hope: Prasad

Bengaluru

The Narendra Modi government in the last one year has got back the country from “gloom to growth and from despair to hope”, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said, as he accused Congress of having vested interest in keeping the farmers poor.

“Exactly one year ago Narendra Modi government took office. If I have to describe this one year you have to go into background also, when we came to power, and if I have to describe in one sentence I will say from gloom to growth, from despair to hope — that is the real achievement of our government,” Prasad told reporters here.

As the Modi government launched a countrywide campaign to mark completion of one year in office and highlight its achievements, Prasad said the government was working for the poor.

“If I have to explain in last one year what we have done for the poor — banking the unbanked, funding the unfunded, securing the unsecured,” he said, as the government sought to counter the opposition attack that it was favouring corporates.

Holding that two fundamentals of any good economic growth are inflation and fiscal deficit, he said “…Inflation is under check and even the fiscal deficit is under check. India is getting FDI, India is getting FII, and India is getting investment.”

Listing out the steps taken by the Modi government towards cooperative federalism without any party bias, Prasad also lauded the foreign policy of the government, and said, “India is today perceived as a major world power.”

On land acquisition bill, he said it was more for the poor and farmers. “You need land to make canals, land for irrigation, land to hostels for poor students, land for rural infrastructure.”

Hitting out at the opposition, Prasad said, “Congress party has ruled India for so many years; we are nearly 68 years after 1947 and Congress party directly or indirectly has ruled 59 years of those 68 years. Congress party has vested interest in keeping the farmers poor. BJP wants the son of a farmer to rise, to be able to get employment also.”

Responding to opposition barbs targeting Modi and his government like ‘selfie Prime Minister’, ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’ he said, “I’m not to satisfy those who have been rejected by the people of India. I have to satisfy the people of India, and the people of India are happy.”

Stating that BSNL and MTNL were turned from profit making to loss making company in the last ten years, Prasad said “let me ask a question, what was done to BSNL, MTNL to create a messy condition?”

He said as Communications Minister his first job was to “restore them to health”.

“India today has got about 98 crore mobile phones.

Very soon we will have hundred crore mobile phones in a population of 1.25 billion. We have 30 crore internet penetration, my government is keen to make it 50 crore in coming two years,” he said.

He also said investment proposals worth Rs 20,000 crore has been received by major electronic, automobile companies.

PTI