Text of PM's reply to the debate on Motion of thanks to President’s Address in Rajya Sabha
Honourable Chairman Sir,
We had a detailed discussion on the motion of thanks to the honourable President’s address. I am also here to reply to the honourable President’s address and with a request for this house to pass this motion of thanks to horourable President’s address with a consensus.
All the honourable members have communicated their ideas in detail during the discussion. I am grateful to all. This is a fact that this house is a Council of States. There are lots of members amongst us who have represented a particular state and during their time of representing that state, public mood was somewhat different than what it is today in the prevailing situation. Now the political situations have changed. People have changed their decision. And in that sense, from the perspective of Council of States, the representation of the sentiments of the people of those states, representation of the sentiments of the government of those states which the people have elected is a must and this is natural as well. What is more important is the state which we represent rather than the party we are representing and it is our responsibility to represent the state in the position in which it is today. And in that sense, this house will definitely honor the public opinion. The people have given mandate with a great expectation to run the government and although scope for criticism and arguments is always there, it is our collective responsibility to cooperate with each other for the betterment of our country, and I believe that we will not go back in carrying forward this collective responsibility.
Secondly, threats have neither worked nor will work in democracy. I used to receive many letters for 14 years threatening to put me in jail but here I am standing in front of you today. I am well aware of those games but I do not want to speak on those. It is going to be embedded in the pages of history. And therefore, everybody knows about the character of the people who use threat as a tool. In the same democracy, during the emergency, we are aware of kind of oppression was done. Is there any bigger threat than that but the country refused to bow down to those threats. Therefore, please do not put words which were never said in someone’s mouth. The country should run according to the existing laws and within the ambit of existing laws.
And lot of members in this house have same objection that we are just promoting the old schemes with new names. I said that in the other assembly and I am repeating it here that this debate that schemes are new or old will drift us further apart. The issue is that problems are long-standing. The real worry is about the problems and finding solutions to the problems. And we don’t believe that we are the only experts to resolve these issues. We do not have the thinking that since we are sitting in this position so God is bestowed us with complete knowledge. We too have several drawbacks. But by coming together we can solve the problems. And this is the strength of democracy. Nobody can claim to be complete. But if we come together, there is quite a possibility of being complete. But if God is not willing still there can be some shortcomings in overcoming the problems and hence our thought is that we alone cannot achieve everything.
Therefore, may be this assembly has never heard before, and probably it is my true statement that never ever any member of this house would have heard, while having control on Treasury Bank, they have praised and acknowledged the contribution of others for their role in the development of this country. How can they acknowledge role of others in the development of nation, when they are not willing to give anyone credit in freedom movement. But it was me, who announced from Red Fort, that this country has move forward due to the contribution extended by all previous Governments, Prime Ministers and State Governments. You can refer to my old speech delivered in this house only, wherein I had affirmed these words with great responsibility and pride. We don’t believe that the country came into existence on 15 August 1947. This country is legacy of thousands of years. This country has been in existence owing to it sages, saints, teachers, workers and farmers, and not by governments. Governments will keep changing. People like us will come, run the system and the leave.
And therefore I request you to please do not force us to live as per your approach or as per the thought process which is within you, which you have lived with. Please do not force us to live with the perspective you have lived with which we have never followed and please do not try to test us with the same approach as you used to do. You said that I am just limited to explaining the schemes. I can go further, even up to till the years of 84-86, but I will not waste that much time.
At the time of NDA government, there was a scheme named “Multipurpose National Identity Project”. You brought “AADHAR UIDAI” – it was the same scheme with a new name. During Atal ii’s time, there was “Sampoorna Grameen Rojgaar Yojna”, you brought “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Freedom of Information Act”, you brought “Right to Information Act”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Antodaya Ann Yojna”, you brought “National Food Security Act”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan”, post 86th Constitutional Amendment, you brought “Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act”.
During Atal ji’s time, there was “Swarnim Jayanti Gram Swaraj Yojna”, you brought “National Rural Livelihoods Mission”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Total Sanitation Campaign”, you brought “Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority”, you brought “Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act”.
Honorable Chairman Sir, there were some political talks here as well. I heard talks like “who is he”, “who are they” or “how many”. I would like to draw the attention of this house toward this issue. In political life, taking decisions on mere Perception always has chances of errors and you know where you have reached by doing so. And therefore it is very important to understand the ground realities in political life. We cannot move on the basis of Perception only. I just heard Venkaiah ji saying that majority of farmers and dalits etc. are with us.
Today, on one hand BJP represents Ladakh, on the other hand it represents Kanyakumari. If it represents Kutch on one side, the other side it represents Arunachal Pradesh. And therefore you can see BJP representing the regions across Kutch to Kanyakumari. Earlier they used to think that we are limited to Hindi Belt only but today you can see that we have successfully formed government in Southern India also. We also know that we have been accused of being party of upper classes only, but after seeing me, you must have to change your thinking.
There are few states with highest tribal population, like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat. And the tribal society of these states have voted for Bhartiya Janata Party. You also know that Goa – where decisive voters are from Christian society – BJP is ruling there with full majority. Nagaland – where maximum voters belong to Christian society is having BJP Government. Jammu & Kashmir – where decisive voters are Muslims – is having BJP government. Punjab, with majority of Sikh community as decision makers also has our government from so many years.
So these are the regions being ruled by BJP and therefore, ground reality must be considered that now BJP has emerged as a party, which is widely acceptable across different regions. And therefore the perception based on which you are bringing your point forward is the thing of the past. We are well aware of the era when the ancestors of our Sitaram ji used to tell people that that vehicle which is running on your blood and not running on petrol. We have heard such dialogues long ago. So do we need to pay attention to these kinds of dialogues in today’s world? Time has changed and therefore I wanted to ask this.
Question asked by Shri Sharad Yadav
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi: I am thankful to Sharad ji that he has delivered what I have been thinking. And please spare some time to read my book namely “Samajik Samrasta”. I have explained your emotions in detail, and you will be quite happy to read it. I am not saying that you will also enjoy the same happiness. I totally acknowledge what Sharad ji said. Is the sanitation campaign is a program for corporate sector or for rich people only? The poor society of India, living in huts, is craving for quality of life. Can’t we provide them hygienic atmosphere? And therefore I think of them when I run such campaigns. I talk about honour of our mothers and sisters. Due to Jan Dhan Yojana, poor people are able to open their bank accounts. Is this a corporate program? This program is not associated with rich people or corporate world. The issue of toilets in schools, which schools are covered under this programme? The schools where poor children are studying, for example, a driver’s son goes to this type of school. There are no toilets. I am working hard to resolve this issue. Is this a program for rich people or corporate world? I talk about Soil Health Card. Who are covered under it? Poor farmers having small piece of land. I talk about Per drop–more crop. Why? Since he is a small farmer, and is having small piece of land. How can he produce more crops? I am working hard in this direction. Is this a program for corporate world? Will rich people make money from it?
We auction Coal Blocks to earn money. The eastern belt of India is full of natural resources. Be it Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Poorvanchal - these states are full of natural resources, take Orissa despite having so much natural resources is not able to come out of poverty. Shouldn’t we try to improve take them out of poverty? Is the western part is the only part entitled for development? I am pained that country cannot move further until balanced development is done in all regions.
So, the money generated from Coal auction, will be used in the upliftment of the states, who are in possession of coal. This will give the poor a chance to fight against poverty and will help the states to develop. Is this happening for the rich? Is this taking place for the Corporate World?
Clean Ganga: 40 percent of the country’s population is directly or indirectly financially connected with the river Ganga. For some, cleaning Ganga, would be a matter of devotion. For some, it would be an environmental issue, but cleaning Ganga, is also a massive economic programme, on the whole. It has the strength to awaken the country financially. This can help the poor to bring a change in their lives financially. This government is only determined to serve the dejected poor class of the society.
Skill India: Anand Ji was sharing the facts, I don’t intend to share the same, and various committees were formed, various missions were set, many came and many left, I don’t want to talk about this, but all the successful countries, too, are focussing and working towards the goal of Skill Development. It is our responsibility that we use our demographic dividend in the most appropriate manner. If we have the demographic dividend, we have the hands, but we also need skills along with the hands. Having mere hands will not serve the purpose, we need hands with proper skills. I believe, if the youths of our country have skills, it can act as a strengthening catalyst for reaching new heights in the country. Therefore, we are focussing on the poor children, who have left their studies after 5th or 3rd grade, should be provided with Skill development programme.
Housing for All: Who are these people, who do not have houses to live in? Are they Corporates? These people are none other than, the poor citizens of our country. We are trying to provide them houses, by building 3 crore houses in the villages and 2 crore houses in the cities, by the year 2022, when we will celebrate the pure Indian independence. We will always move forward to make to dream come true. There is no requirement of any political agenda for making this dream true, we will also ask the congress rulers to support us in this venture and provide houses to the poor. This venture is not a part of Government programme, but this is a programme for the poor citizens of our country. Therefore, we are focussing on this problem.
I am sure, you all will support us, in moving forward with the goal of upliftment of the poor. We all can see that, intelligent people do different analysis, but in our entire budget, 42 percent devolution is for the states that comprise Indian economy, we need to think about them. When we speak of the development of nation, it is high time to combine the state’s and nation’s riches and its time to see the policies in a perspective. You are the representatives of the state. This is the Council of States, where huge devolution has been provided. Once the money is utilised in the infrastructure and development of the state, it will lead to economy generation. I would like to request all the respected representatives of the states, to utilise any huge amount of money, in the right direction of development of the state, which will help the state to develop on the whole and bring an end to all the problems.
We have come up with a new MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinancing Agency) scheme in our current budget. We want to know that who runs the economy in our country in reality? We have not researched on this issue. The common men of this country are the one who provide jobs, perform jobs, as well as run our country’s economy. We have the auto-drivers, auto rickshaw repairer, auto rickshaw owner, scooter repairer, cycle repairer, boot polisher, fruits seller, bread seller and many more. These are all common men of our country, who provide 5.5 crore jobs to the Poor and 11-12 crore jobs on the whole. This is not a small amount. They have the capability to provide jobs to people. But, it is highly disappointing to see that there is no organization from where these sectors can take funds if required.
They borrow money from the money lenders on 120% interest and spend half of their lives in paying the interest. For the first time, our government has formulated MUDRA scheme, wherein these sectors will be benefited with funds with institutional arrangements and they will be able to develop themselves financially. I believe, other factors related to financial development will also be affected by this new scheme and will lead the nation to new heights.
Who are these people? About 54 percent of the population are conducting small scale business in the rural sectors. 46 percent of the population are running their business in the cities. More than 60 percent of those who are involved in these businesses, are Scheduled Caste or Schedules Tribe or OBC. This implies that if we try to focus on this backward sector of the society, I believe that they can move ahead in their development at a very high pace. We are trying to provide jobs to these backward sector of the society. Till now, the Institutional Finance, which have been provided to them..
Ms. Mayawati’s Question
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi: Respected Chairman Sir, this assembly comprises of all the senior citizens. These citizens are much more experienced, hard-working and have contributed a lot towards the development of our nation. I am quite new in this assembly, Thereby requesting you to assist me in this situation.
Respected Chairman Sir, out of 125 crore of population, 29 crore citizens have Life Insurance policy. Only 10 crore citizens have Accidental Death Cover Insurance. Only 6 crore citizens have the Organized Pension Scheme Cover. Other than this, under the BPL category, a widow or any other senior citizen has the pension scheme ranging from 300 INR to 1500 INR. This is a very common scheme in our wide nation. We are trying ways to find a solution to a very big problem in our country. And, I believe we are trying to reach all the sections of our society with the help of Prime Minister Safety Insurance Scheme, Prime Minister Life of Light Scheme and Atal Pension Scheme. We are planning to simplify these schemes.
With one rupee every month and for citizens under the age group of 18 to 70 years, we can generate Accidental Death Cover insurance of 2 lakh rupees. I believe, considering the present scenario of our nation, we are worried about poor citizens of our country. Under Prime Minister Life of Light Scheme, we can generate 330 rupees, which is one rupee per day, and citizens under the age group of 18 to 50 years, can use the benefits of this insurance without any medical tests. Not only this, Rs. 2 lakh risk coverage will be provided to the family, in case of death under normal circumstances as well.
Atal Pension Scheme, Under this pension scheme, after 60 years, any citizen who requires a pension of one, two, three, five thousand or any other amount, this pension plan will work as per the pension amount required. If a 20 year old opts for this scheme and requires a pension amount of Rs. 5000 after 60 years, then he is required to contribute Rs. 248 per year till the age of 60, and he can get the pension of Rs. 5000 per month, throughout his life. In case of death, his wife will be benefited with the pension amount. In case of death of both mother and father, their children will be refunded the deposited amount of Rs. 8.5 lakh. Our nation’s requirement of Social Security and its awareness will be fulfilled through this scheme. We have tried out best to uplift our society with the safety and satisfaction among the senior citizens in their last stages of life. Our country’s farmers believe “I slog day and night, will get old and then will be eventually separated by our children. If I had pension...” So, with the help of this scheme, even the farmers will be benefited, housewives….So, if children leave them in their old age, or if they don’t have children, they can still continue to avail the benefits of this pension scheme.
We have also come up with a new sovereign Gold Bond scheme. Even after independence, our gold’s Hallmark is run through some or the other foreign Hallmark. This is very disappointing that our country doesn’t have its ownGold Hallmark. So, with this sovereign Gold Bond, we will have our own gold coins, biscuits, Ashok Chakra emblem and we can reach everywhere around the world. There are a few things, which are directly connected to our dignity and self-respect, which will act as a powerful weapon for our country. When we speak of Sovereign Gold bank and for example, we speak of 20 thousand tonnes of Gold, this might lead Anand Sharma to stand up and narrate the quantity of gold mentioned by me. To this, I would say, this is just a way to speak.
We are unable to use the available gold in our country, gold monetization; it is merely present as a dead money in our country. It will be a great driving force to uplift the nation’s economy with its circulation. So, we are eliminating the policy of half kilo gold from our country. Citizens can keep any amount of gold, borrow money and go ahead in their lives. I believe, with this venture, a huge amount of gold in the form of dead money will provide an enormous boost to our nation. In the same manner, we want to proceed with the Sovereign Gold Bond. It is not mandatory to buy gold in the form of metal, but you can also buy gold in the form of paper. Eventually, you will be refunded the amount according the present gold rate, once you return the paper gold. This will also support in the import-export balance in our nation. I believe our country will be immensely benefited with this scheme.
I believe, a country requires good ideas and customs for positive development. We cannot expect a positive outcome, with just good ideas or just good customs. We need a combination of both ideas and customs, which will lead the country to the path of upliftment. Therefore, we are striving to adopt and develop a work culture, which will help us in achieving our goals.
Shri. Ghulam Nabi ji and Shri Anand ji have raised the issues of transfers of officers, which is very disappointing. I am observing that people are so distressed, just like a gram seed dries off in water. They are in great pain, as they have been transferred. I would like to say that, we should look into our own reflection in mirrors, before giving such sermons.
Your government was formed in the year 2004. You had dismissed the Cabinet Secretary, as soon as the government was formed.
Your government was formed in the year 2004. You had appointed Foreign Secretary without considering the convention of seniority.
Your government was formed in the year 2004. You had dismissed the Home Secretary straightaway.
Your government was formed in the year 2004. You had even dismissed the efficient Defence Secretary in one moment.
Not only this, you had insulted the governors, kept them in darkness and dismissed them. We haven’t done anything like this. I may address to Ghulam Nabi ji, an ex- Health Minister, wherein a secretary from your department had received a Nobel Prize from UN for polio. You had dismissed him, while he was receiving the award from UN. So, we need to decide, what all can be revealed here in the assembly. Even though I am new here, I have a huge treasure of information with me.
And therefore, we have decided and we are keenly determined to move in the direction of Good Governance. One more fact has come up into consideration that we have received some from our supporters, some from those who think positive of us and some from those who have special love for us. And, I have received a lot of love from many of who have bestowed special love.
“We can see nothing on the ground. I really admire Modi ji’s statements, his way of thinking, but I am unable to see any result on the grounds.” I would like to say to my supporters that you have been in government for ages and are intoxicated with Power. I pray to God to save all of us from that intoxication of power. As, when we are addicted to Power, the addiction becomes quite high, so when the head is quite high above the ground, we are unable to look down and see the ground level. I believe, the more you look down, the more you connect with people, so I would like the people here who have asked about ground to understand how the work is done.
Railways and Highways, both are run by the Government. However, there has, always been a clash between the two, as the Railways would never allow more than 350 projects of Highways and, the latter would never give permissions to Railways for more projects. Some need to build a railway line across the road line and some need to build an over bridge across the railway line. There were 350 projects, we came and we noticed and asked both the departments to sit across the table and clear all the misunderstandings and got a MoU signed between the two, and today I am happy to announce that we have introduced an Online Portal for the same. Online clearances are now being provided. The projects, which were stuck in these departments for the past 350 years, stand all clear now. Now, if any new project is undertaken, it has been decided to clear the same within 60 days. At present, we have just 22 projects in hand, which are under process. This is a pure example of Good Governance and this is how a work is done.
Let me give you the details of the work done on the grounds. I will speak of the UPA first, wherein 7.4 Km per day of highway were awarded, but only 5.2 Km per day used to be achieved. Anand ji, let me give you the accounts of work done within 9 months now. We award the work of 18 Km per day, and we have received the reports that we achieve 10.1 Km per day. Its double and this is how a work is done, and government can run on the ground level.
Railway:
2013-14-New line- UPA- 390 Km.
New line- 9 months- NDA 2410 Km.
2013-14 - Gauge Conversion - 585 Km.
Our 9 months - 700 Km.
UPA - doubling - 675 Km.
Our - 810 Km.
I am trying to convey that we are connected to the grounds of our country, and I am sure you will be able to see the results on the ground through our work.
Adarsh Gram Scheme: I would like to convey my special gratitude and appreciate the work of few respected members of the parliament. About 600 members have joined hands and supported in this work with all their hearts. I have been informed, I love to speak about people in this way, especially, if I have to speak of our Respected Motilal ji Veera, he has done a tremendous work in a village called Mohali, Chhatisgarh. He took initiatives to open Jan Dhan accounts for all the Ration card holders, connected the people with Aadhaar Cards, built committees for safeguarding government distribution, so that the poor can be benefited through PDS system. Respected Motilal ji has worked on these important grounds.
So, if the members of the parliament take such initiatives and interests, it can help the villages to transform with a new developed shape. I have all the information about the members. I would like to mention the name of our member, Kamakhya Prasad from Jorhat, who has come up with perfect safety schemes for ICDS and mid-day meals, so that the children can get proper meals. Our own Aviation minister, Shri Ashok ji, who has adopted a village in Andhra Pradesh, took a pledge and surrendered himself to eliminate the prevailing alcohol intake in the village. The village members were used to drinking alcohol and have the licence for alcohol shops. If we have the support of all the members, we have move forward in the path of Good Governance and achieve our goals.
You must be aware of the Labour practices, wherein our labourers who had slogged day and night, and should be allotted the amount of Rs. 27,000 crores, which is not a small amount, but they are unable to receive the amount. Why? As some labourers are paid just Rs. 50, Rs. 100 or Rs. 200, and they cannot stick to just one place for work. If he relocates to some other workplace, he has to bear extra fare for reaching the old workplace for receiving the payment of Rs. 50 or Rs 100. There are no accounts of the labourers, who died for any reason. There is no proper account of their payments and our government treasury has Rs. 27,000 crores, which belongs to the labourers.
We have tried to formulate the UAN (Universal Account Number) policy. With the help of this UAN policy, labourers will be receiving their payments in their accounts, irrespective of their location. With this, the labourers will be able to receive their pending amount of payment, from the treasury of Rs. 27,000 crore, which is lying with the government. This money belongs to the Poor and is it their rightful money. The government doesn’t want to use this money for any other cause, we want to pay the money back to the labourers. I believe, this is a result of Good Governance and will have a positive impact in the development of our nation.
If we speak of Prime Minister People’s Money, I don’t want to take much of your time for discussing the same.
We have been discussing MNREGA repeatedly. What I spoke in the last assembly, I would not be repeating the same here, as that has been registered appropriately and has been addressed. Now, I would like to talk about Aadhaar Cards and MNREGA. I don’t want to criticize and make comparison between them. But, I have the strength and culture to say that, all our governments have contributed to the development of our nation. Our country must have faced various obstacles in reaching what we are today, nonetheless, huge contributions have been done. Let us speak of the working of Aadhaar cards:
In 45 months under UPA, which is almost 3.5 years, 7 crore Aadhaar settlements took place.
In 9 months under NDA, 17 crore settlements took place.
So, we can see the difference between 45 months and 9 months.
You have to compare between 45 months and 9 months.
In 45 months of UPA government, 5,000 Aadhar cards were linked with MNREGA. And at the time NDA government, 8 Lac Aadhar cards have been linked with this scheme. Now compare 5000 in 45 months versus 8 Lakhs in just 9 months?
At the time of UPA, 1.7 Crore Aadhar cards were linked with Job Cards. We have added 5 Crore people in 9 months. Compare 1.7 Crores versus 5 Crores?
And therefore, I said that both policy and practices needs to be developed.
We talk about MNREGA and job guarantee for 100 days for poor people. During 2013-14, average days of employment under this scheme were 42.5 days only, which is well short of 50%.
And how many persons got jobs for 100 days during 2013-14? Only 6.35%. and when this issue was brought to the notice of honorable Supreme Court, it was admitted by UPA government, that they have no audit report for the expenses incurred, amounting to Rs. 1 Lakh Crore in the last five years in MNREGA. This affidavit has been filed by you in Supreme Court.
We talk a lot about plans, discussions related to it, credit, rules and strict laws. Nation wants us to do the best, for the benefit of poor people and try to improve the life style of a common man. And you will see that in 9 months that the government is working in the same direction.
Respected Mayawati ji has discussed about Bundelkhand. Bundelkhand is divided into two states – Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh. An amount of Rs. 3,760 crore was disbursed for six districts of Madhya Pradesh. At the same time, an amount of Rs. 3506 Crore was disbursed for seven districts of Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh spent 96% amount out of it and you can see the results. Bundelkhand connected to Madhya Pradesh has shown a drastic improvement in wheat yield from 1,629 kilogram per hectare to 2,323 kilogram per hectare. The amount given has been used for irrigation of 1,42,000 hectare land. Milk production has improved from 9 Lakh ton to 12 Lakh ton. Around 561 milk cooperative societies have been initiated. Drinking water consumption has improved from 40 litres per person to 55 litres. Since you belong to Uttar Pradesh, I would not like to share the progress report for the Bundelkhand connected to Uttar Pradesh. Maybe your concern is quite genuine, but I have shared the facts about other part connected to Madhya Pradesh.
We had a discussion on Bengal also. There are some people who are trying to run this country with imported ideology. They ruled the Bengal for 30 years. But Derek, I won’t blame you for the current situation. You can do what you want but the CR should remain OK. In the past 30 years, the image of West Bengal, which once was known as capital of industrial activity in India, and Kolkata, which was once known as industrial capital has been completely destroyed. West Bengal was one of the industrial development leaders for agricultural growth. In last 30 years, agricultural growth is reduced to minus figures. West Bengal’s share in industrial development is reduced to 4% from 10%. During 1976-77, 7.6% percent of total factories were running in Bengal which was reduced to 4% in 2008-09. During 1966-76, Industrial growth was 17.3% which was reduced to 7.8% during 2001-07. During 2007 National sample survey, it was observed that Bengal is the most affected state suffering from starvation. Only 60% schools have functional toilets for girl compared to national average of 75%.
Yesterday, Sitaram ji was discussing about closure of Nokia factory in Chennai. The nation wants us to create jobs and we have to try our best in this direction. To complete this task, we have to promote ‘Make in India’ campaign. Speed of infrastructure will decide job opportunities, and to increase the job opportunities, we should focus on infrastructure.
Yesterday, Shri Sitarajm ji had shown concern for closure of Nokia factory in Chennai and for 25000 employees who lost their job. I would like to state that this factory was not closed down due to our government’s policy. It has been closed due to certain steps taken by the previous government. I acknowledge your concern. Yes, 25000 employees have lost their job. But I would like to assure you, that we have taken necessary steps. And we hope that Nokia will resume shortly and jobs will be created. So we are already working in this direction.
The President, in his address has talked about Digital India. Honorable Chairman Sir, It is true that once there was a global theory of haves and have nots. I believe that in the coming days, digital divide could be one of the reasons for poverty and backwardness. Therefore, nation must not face the situation of Digital Divide. And to stop the Digital Divide, we need to associate even the poorest of the poor with digital technology. India is having more than 90 crore mobile users and is likely to touch the 100 crore mark very soon. We wish to introduce mobile governance.
How can the poorest of the poor become a part of this system?
And when we talk of Digital India, we should aim to take the BPOs from centers like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad to the North East where the youth is well versed with the English language and can speak it fluently. We are trying our best to proceed in that direction to arrange for a regular means of income for the youth.
Everyone has also expressed their concerns over the issue of Black Money. This is the topic where nobody ever has expressed their thoughts before. Only we kept talking about it. And we had a lot of figures at that time. I believe that when Supreme Court had ordered to form SIT, back in 2011, our dream of extracting all the money stashed away in foreign banks would have been possible. However, SIT was not formed as the time as there were vested interests. If SIT was formed at the time, and all the procedures had started, it wouldn`t have been as difficult and time consuming to bring back the money. And I believe that even now all money stashed abroad must be brought back to the country. We are doing whatever legally required to address this issue. Also, whether it is about the G-20 summit, or about the dialogue with Switzerland or talking to America about MoU, we are on signing a MoU to exchange information with the world. One after other new countries are joining this movement because without proper information we won`t be able to fight this battle.
On the other hand, Indian citizens will have to declare information about any property or wealth that they have stashed away on foreign shores, as per the new laws. As a result of this, things will come into light and it is in this manner that we plan for bringing back the black money. We will complete this procedure and we must do this!
All the respected members present here have expressed their concerns over land acquisition. This is a gathering of seniors and I assure all of you that under this scheme, I have ensured from Day 1 that if there is anything against the farmers of the country, we are ready to correct it. But what has been promulgated has its flaws because we were a participant in that. We won`t deny that we had not done this. If we had done something good then don’t give credit to us but there has been a wrongdoing, then we too are responsible for it. But now we should come out of it - for the betterment and development of the country. And I don`t want to make into an ego issue or play politics here.
We will need land for irrigation in order to ensure that the farmers have enough water for their crops and thus thePrime Minister`s Krishi Sinchai Yojana will be a success. We will need land to make roads in villages and also to make houses for the poor under the Rural Housing scheme. And there is no provision in our current laws. Hence I request you not to spread rumors that there is a deduction in compensation. No one has ever tweaked the rules of compensation before. As decided the compensation will remain the same and there won`t be any decrease in that. But the law was made in 2013. What happened? It was implemented in January, 2014. The rule was implemented in Haryana in the month of July despite the fact that Congress was the ruling party there. They refused to give the compensation as decided by the rules made under the law.
Not just that, we made these laws in Maharashtra where Congress was the ruling party. This means that states are finding it difficult to function as per these laws...I am not talking about Congress or BJP here...but they are definitely facing problems and finding it difficult. And all the states have expressed their despair, and as this is the Council of States, it is our duty to protect all states. And it is our first responsibility of this council to act upon the concern that the states have expressed and ensure that law does not prove to be a burden on the states and rework it according to the hopes and aspirations of the respective states.
The law will stay, we have to remove the flaws. If there is any flaw in that, then we will have to remove it as well. And I invite you all to come and help us in our quest of evolution tour to develop the country. And no matter how intelligent we are, we should consider the fact that the laws that have helped the country develop and also served the farmers of the country from 1894 to 2014, a total of 120 years, would not have lost its efficiency overnight. We have to think about the farmers of our country and strive to protect them but we have to do it together and this is my insistence.
There`s another misconception that is being spread, perhaps not intentionally but due to wrong information. I request you to not do this. The government has no intention to deduct anything from the 67% promised coverage for the poor. Some are spreading rumors about the decrease of coverage from 67 % to 40%, I believe that this will not happen and I request you to refrain from spreading such rumors and trouble us. This devolution that has happened...the work assigned to them was the restructuring of Food Corporation of India. See there are 50 different types of reports that comes to the government. You also must have submitted reports, but it is not on the basis of reports, the government only conveys its decision. I only inform you about the government`s decision. And I believe you are the connected with government`s decisions. Another thing is that due to this 42% devolution, the following changes will be seen...Derek ji, West Bengal will get Rs. 22,000 crore extra, Andhra Pradesh will get Rs. 15,000 crore extra, Orissa will get Rs. 8,000 crore extra. Likewise, I can tell all the extra money that every state will be getting but for now, I have brought the list of only 3 states. The budget features a comprehensive list comprising of Telangana as well. Everyone is getting 42 percent.
Now the biggest thing about the rise of royalty on minerals that has been increased by 1.5 per cent which is going to benefit mostly the eastern regions of the country. Not only that, the money raised by the coal auctions will also be given to the states. Till date, 19 coal mines have been auctioned and more than Rs 1 lakh crore has been generated from the same. This money will also be given to these states. According to the calculation, of the total amount received, the bulk 62% will be with the states and only 38% will be with the center. This is a proper procedure that is being implemented and hence some people advice that it needs to be verified.
Not only that, Foreign Policies were also discussed. In the current scenario, it is safe to assume that as opposed to earlier, the world is divided into different parts now. The dynamics of the camps of this world has changed over the years. To protect the supreme interest of India is the centre point of our foreign policy. I had said this before the elections, post it and even after becoming the Prime Minister of the country that the world needs to realise the greatness of India. As far as the foreign policy is concerned, our stance would be to build relationships with the world. We want to build deeper bonds with the neighbouring nations. However, we will be at par with the rest of the nations and never be subdued in front of them in order to build good relationships. However, we will also not be dominant. We just want to be at par with the other nations and develop healthy and fruitful relationships with all of them.
We are working in that direction and you will be happy to know about the return of Father Prem`s return from the clutches of the terrorists in Afghanistan which cannot be termed as an ordinary event. And in the past 9 months, 12000 Indians that have been stuck in various parts of the world have been retrieved back to the country. The nurses from Kerala, who were stuck with the terrorists, have also been brought back to the country, safe and sound. The government had provided them with air tickets to their home state.
Another important discussion was the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. I want to assure the house and also 125 crore Indians that the government formed in Jammu and Kashmir is on the basis of Common Minimum Programme and will continue to function with the same idea. We can`t support it on the basis of someone`s statement. The government will go forward with a zero tolerance policy towards terrorism. But if we continue to react to every statement made, I believe that we will not proceed in the correct direction. We are proceeding with our rules and plans.
I will tell this clearly that the voters of Kashmir have not only honored democracy by coming out in maximum numbers to vote but they have also sent out a loud and clear message to the world about Kashmir. And hence, the fact that India had been advocating since the past 50 years, Kashmir voters had managed to put a seal of approval on it. Hearty congratulations to them! I congratulate the citizens of Kashmir. And we place our trust in the citizens of Kashmir and for the trust that they have placed in us, we promise to protect the unity and integrity of the country. And hence, once again I would like to say through the medium of this house and the head of the house that we assure that we will follow the proposals for the betterment of Kashmir, approved by the councils of India. There will be no compromise on the subject and I assure this to the people of the country.
I would once again request the assembly to approve the President`s speech, of his proposal of vote of thanks with consensus. I would like to thank everyone.
We had a detailed discussion on the motion of thanks to the honourable President’s address. I am also here to reply to the honourable President’s address and with a request for this house to pass this motion of thanks to horourable President’s address with a consensus.
All the honourable members have communicated their ideas in detail during the discussion. I am grateful to all. This is a fact that this house is a Council of States. There are lots of members amongst us who have represented a particular state and during their time of representing that state, public mood was somewhat different than what it is today in the prevailing situation. Now the political situations have changed. People have changed their decision. And in that sense, from the perspective of Council of States, the representation of the sentiments of the people of those states, representation of the sentiments of the government of those states which the people have elected is a must and this is natural as well. What is more important is the state which we represent rather than the party we are representing and it is our responsibility to represent the state in the position in which it is today. And in that sense, this house will definitely honor the public opinion. The people have given mandate with a great expectation to run the government and although scope for criticism and arguments is always there, it is our collective responsibility to cooperate with each other for the betterment of our country, and I believe that we will not go back in carrying forward this collective responsibility.
Secondly, threats have neither worked nor will work in democracy. I used to receive many letters for 14 years threatening to put me in jail but here I am standing in front of you today. I am well aware of those games but I do not want to speak on those. It is going to be embedded in the pages of history. And therefore, everybody knows about the character of the people who use threat as a tool. In the same democracy, during the emergency, we are aware of kind of oppression was done. Is there any bigger threat than that but the country refused to bow down to those threats. Therefore, please do not put words which were never said in someone’s mouth. The country should run according to the existing laws and within the ambit of existing laws.
And lot of members in this house have same objection that we are just promoting the old schemes with new names. I said that in the other assembly and I am repeating it here that this debate that schemes are new or old will drift us further apart. The issue is that problems are long-standing. The real worry is about the problems and finding solutions to the problems. And we don’t believe that we are the only experts to resolve these issues. We do not have the thinking that since we are sitting in this position so God is bestowed us with complete knowledge. We too have several drawbacks. But by coming together we can solve the problems. And this is the strength of democracy. Nobody can claim to be complete. But if we come together, there is quite a possibility of being complete. But if God is not willing still there can be some shortcomings in overcoming the problems and hence our thought is that we alone cannot achieve everything.
Therefore, may be this assembly has never heard before, and probably it is my true statement that never ever any member of this house would have heard, while having control on Treasury Bank, they have praised and acknowledged the contribution of others for their role in the development of this country. How can they acknowledge role of others in the development of nation, when they are not willing to give anyone credit in freedom movement. But it was me, who announced from Red Fort, that this country has move forward due to the contribution extended by all previous Governments, Prime Ministers and State Governments. You can refer to my old speech delivered in this house only, wherein I had affirmed these words with great responsibility and pride. We don’t believe that the country came into existence on 15 August 1947. This country is legacy of thousands of years. This country has been in existence owing to it sages, saints, teachers, workers and farmers, and not by governments. Governments will keep changing. People like us will come, run the system and the leave.
And therefore I request you to please do not force us to live as per your approach or as per the thought process which is within you, which you have lived with. Please do not force us to live with the perspective you have lived with which we have never followed and please do not try to test us with the same approach as you used to do. You said that I am just limited to explaining the schemes. I can go further, even up to till the years of 84-86, but I will not waste that much time.
At the time of NDA government, there was a scheme named “Multipurpose National Identity Project”. You brought “AADHAR UIDAI” – it was the same scheme with a new name. During Atal ii’s time, there was “Sampoorna Grameen Rojgaar Yojna”, you brought “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Freedom of Information Act”, you brought “Right to Information Act”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Antodaya Ann Yojna”, you brought “National Food Security Act”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan”, post 86th Constitutional Amendment, you brought “Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act”.
During Atal ji’s time, there was “Swarnim Jayanti Gram Swaraj Yojna”, you brought “National Rural Livelihoods Mission”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Total Sanitation Campaign”, you brought “Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan”. During Atal ji’s time, there was “Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority”, you brought “Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act”.
Honorable Chairman Sir, there were some political talks here as well. I heard talks like “who is he”, “who are they” or “how many”. I would like to draw the attention of this house toward this issue. In political life, taking decisions on mere Perception always has chances of errors and you know where you have reached by doing so. And therefore it is very important to understand the ground realities in political life. We cannot move on the basis of Perception only. I just heard Venkaiah ji saying that majority of farmers and dalits etc. are with us.
Today, on one hand BJP represents Ladakh, on the other hand it represents Kanyakumari. If it represents Kutch on one side, the other side it represents Arunachal Pradesh. And therefore you can see BJP representing the regions across Kutch to Kanyakumari. Earlier they used to think that we are limited to Hindi Belt only but today you can see that we have successfully formed government in Southern India also. We also know that we have been accused of being party of upper classes only, but after seeing me, you must have to change your thinking.
There are few states with highest tribal population, like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat. And the tribal society of these states have voted for Bhartiya Janata Party. You also know that Goa – where decisive voters are from Christian society – BJP is ruling there with full majority. Nagaland – where maximum voters belong to Christian society is having BJP Government. Jammu & Kashmir – where decisive voters are Muslims – is having BJP government. Punjab, with majority of Sikh community as decision makers also has our government from so many years.
So these are the regions being ruled by BJP and therefore, ground reality must be considered that now BJP has emerged as a party, which is widely acceptable across different regions. And therefore the perception based on which you are bringing your point forward is the thing of the past. We are well aware of the era when the ancestors of our Sitaram ji used to tell people that that vehicle which is running on your blood and not running on petrol. We have heard such dialogues long ago. So do we need to pay attention to these kinds of dialogues in today’s world? Time has changed and therefore I wanted to ask this.
Question asked by Shri Sharad Yadav
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi: I am thankful to Sharad ji that he has delivered what I have been thinking. And please spare some time to read my book namely “Samajik Samrasta”. I have explained your emotions in detail, and you will be quite happy to read it. I am not saying that you will also enjoy the same happiness. I totally acknowledge what Sharad ji said. Is the sanitation campaign is a program for corporate sector or for rich people only? The poor society of India, living in huts, is craving for quality of life. Can’t we provide them hygienic atmosphere? And therefore I think of them when I run such campaigns. I talk about honour of our mothers and sisters. Due to Jan Dhan Yojana, poor people are able to open their bank accounts. Is this a corporate program? This program is not associated with rich people or corporate world. The issue of toilets in schools, which schools are covered under this programme? The schools where poor children are studying, for example, a driver’s son goes to this type of school. There are no toilets. I am working hard to resolve this issue. Is this a program for rich people or corporate world? I talk about Soil Health Card. Who are covered under it? Poor farmers having small piece of land. I talk about Per drop–more crop. Why? Since he is a small farmer, and is having small piece of land. How can he produce more crops? I am working hard in this direction. Is this a program for corporate world? Will rich people make money from it?
We auction Coal Blocks to earn money. The eastern belt of India is full of natural resources. Be it Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Poorvanchal - these states are full of natural resources, take Orissa despite having so much natural resources is not able to come out of poverty. Shouldn’t we try to improve take them out of poverty? Is the western part is the only part entitled for development? I am pained that country cannot move further until balanced development is done in all regions.
So, the money generated from Coal auction, will be used in the upliftment of the states, who are in possession of coal. This will give the poor a chance to fight against poverty and will help the states to develop. Is this happening for the rich? Is this taking place for the Corporate World?
Clean Ganga: 40 percent of the country’s population is directly or indirectly financially connected with the river Ganga. For some, cleaning Ganga, would be a matter of devotion. For some, it would be an environmental issue, but cleaning Ganga, is also a massive economic programme, on the whole. It has the strength to awaken the country financially. This can help the poor to bring a change in their lives financially. This government is only determined to serve the dejected poor class of the society.
Skill India: Anand Ji was sharing the facts, I don’t intend to share the same, and various committees were formed, various missions were set, many came and many left, I don’t want to talk about this, but all the successful countries, too, are focussing and working towards the goal of Skill Development. It is our responsibility that we use our demographic dividend in the most appropriate manner. If we have the demographic dividend, we have the hands, but we also need skills along with the hands. Having mere hands will not serve the purpose, we need hands with proper skills. I believe, if the youths of our country have skills, it can act as a strengthening catalyst for reaching new heights in the country. Therefore, we are focussing on the poor children, who have left their studies after 5th or 3rd grade, should be provided with Skill development programme.
Housing for All: Who are these people, who do not have houses to live in? Are they Corporates? These people are none other than, the poor citizens of our country. We are trying to provide them houses, by building 3 crore houses in the villages and 2 crore houses in the cities, by the year 2022, when we will celebrate the pure Indian independence. We will always move forward to make to dream come true. There is no requirement of any political agenda for making this dream true, we will also ask the congress rulers to support us in this venture and provide houses to the poor. This venture is not a part of Government programme, but this is a programme for the poor citizens of our country. Therefore, we are focussing on this problem.
I am sure, you all will support us, in moving forward with the goal of upliftment of the poor. We all can see that, intelligent people do different analysis, but in our entire budget, 42 percent devolution is for the states that comprise Indian economy, we need to think about them. When we speak of the development of nation, it is high time to combine the state’s and nation’s riches and its time to see the policies in a perspective. You are the representatives of the state. This is the Council of States, where huge devolution has been provided. Once the money is utilised in the infrastructure and development of the state, it will lead to economy generation. I would like to request all the respected representatives of the states, to utilise any huge amount of money, in the right direction of development of the state, which will help the state to develop on the whole and bring an end to all the problems.
We have come up with a new MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinancing Agency) scheme in our current budget. We want to know that who runs the economy in our country in reality? We have not researched on this issue. The common men of this country are the one who provide jobs, perform jobs, as well as run our country’s economy. We have the auto-drivers, auto rickshaw repairer, auto rickshaw owner, scooter repairer, cycle repairer, boot polisher, fruits seller, bread seller and many more. These are all common men of our country, who provide 5.5 crore jobs to the Poor and 11-12 crore jobs on the whole. This is not a small amount. They have the capability to provide jobs to people. But, it is highly disappointing to see that there is no organization from where these sectors can take funds if required.
They borrow money from the money lenders on 120% interest and spend half of their lives in paying the interest. For the first time, our government has formulated MUDRA scheme, wherein these sectors will be benefited with funds with institutional arrangements and they will be able to develop themselves financially. I believe, other factors related to financial development will also be affected by this new scheme and will lead the nation to new heights.
Who are these people? About 54 percent of the population are conducting small scale business in the rural sectors. 46 percent of the population are running their business in the cities. More than 60 percent of those who are involved in these businesses, are Scheduled Caste or Schedules Tribe or OBC. This implies that if we try to focus on this backward sector of the society, I believe that they can move ahead in their development at a very high pace. We are trying to provide jobs to these backward sector of the society. Till now, the Institutional Finance, which have been provided to them..
Ms. Mayawati’s Question
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi: Respected Chairman Sir, this assembly comprises of all the senior citizens. These citizens are much more experienced, hard-working and have contributed a lot towards the development of our nation. I am quite new in this assembly, Thereby requesting you to assist me in this situation.
Respected Chairman Sir, out of 125 crore of population, 29 crore citizens have Life Insurance policy. Only 10 crore citizens have Accidental Death Cover Insurance. Only 6 crore citizens have the Organized Pension Scheme Cover. Other than this, under the BPL category, a widow or any other senior citizen has the pension scheme ranging from 300 INR to 1500 INR. This is a very common scheme in our wide nation. We are trying ways to find a solution to a very big problem in our country. And, I believe we are trying to reach all the sections of our society with the help of Prime Minister Safety Insurance Scheme, Prime Minister Life of Light Scheme and Atal Pension Scheme. We are planning to simplify these schemes.
With one rupee every month and for citizens under the age group of 18 to 70 years, we can generate Accidental Death Cover insurance of 2 lakh rupees. I believe, considering the present scenario of our nation, we are worried about poor citizens of our country. Under Prime Minister Life of Light Scheme, we can generate 330 rupees, which is one rupee per day, and citizens under the age group of 18 to 50 years, can use the benefits of this insurance without any medical tests. Not only this, Rs. 2 lakh risk coverage will be provided to the family, in case of death under normal circumstances as well.
Atal Pension Scheme, Under this pension scheme, after 60 years, any citizen who requires a pension of one, two, three, five thousand or any other amount, this pension plan will work as per the pension amount required. If a 20 year old opts for this scheme and requires a pension amount of Rs. 5000 after 60 years, then he is required to contribute Rs. 248 per year till the age of 60, and he can get the pension of Rs. 5000 per month, throughout his life. In case of death, his wife will be benefited with the pension amount. In case of death of both mother and father, their children will be refunded the deposited amount of Rs. 8.5 lakh. Our nation’s requirement of Social Security and its awareness will be fulfilled through this scheme. We have tried out best to uplift our society with the safety and satisfaction among the senior citizens in their last stages of life. Our country’s farmers believe “I slog day and night, will get old and then will be eventually separated by our children. If I had pension...” So, with the help of this scheme, even the farmers will be benefited, housewives….So, if children leave them in their old age, or if they don’t have children, they can still continue to avail the benefits of this pension scheme.
We have also come up with a new sovereign Gold Bond scheme. Even after independence, our gold’s Hallmark is run through some or the other foreign Hallmark. This is very disappointing that our country doesn’t have its ownGold Hallmark. So, with this sovereign Gold Bond, we will have our own gold coins, biscuits, Ashok Chakra emblem and we can reach everywhere around the world. There are a few things, which are directly connected to our dignity and self-respect, which will act as a powerful weapon for our country. When we speak of Sovereign Gold bank and for example, we speak of 20 thousand tonnes of Gold, this might lead Anand Sharma to stand up and narrate the quantity of gold mentioned by me. To this, I would say, this is just a way to speak.
We are unable to use the available gold in our country, gold monetization; it is merely present as a dead money in our country. It will be a great driving force to uplift the nation’s economy with its circulation. So, we are eliminating the policy of half kilo gold from our country. Citizens can keep any amount of gold, borrow money and go ahead in their lives. I believe, with this venture, a huge amount of gold in the form of dead money will provide an enormous boost to our nation. In the same manner, we want to proceed with the Sovereign Gold Bond. It is not mandatory to buy gold in the form of metal, but you can also buy gold in the form of paper. Eventually, you will be refunded the amount according the present gold rate, once you return the paper gold. This will also support in the import-export balance in our nation. I believe our country will be immensely benefited with this scheme.
I believe, a country requires good ideas and customs for positive development. We cannot expect a positive outcome, with just good ideas or just good customs. We need a combination of both ideas and customs, which will lead the country to the path of upliftment. Therefore, we are striving to adopt and develop a work culture, which will help us in achieving our goals.
Shri. Ghulam Nabi ji and Shri Anand ji have raised the issues of transfers of officers, which is very disappointing. I am observing that people are so distressed, just like a gram seed dries off in water. They are in great pain, as they have been transferred. I would like to say that, we should look into our own reflection in mirrors, before giving such sermons.
Your government was formed in the year 2004. You had dismissed the Cabinet Secretary, as soon as the government was formed.
Your government was formed in the year 2004. You had appointed Foreign Secretary without considering the convention of seniority.
Your government was formed in the year 2004. You had dismissed the Home Secretary straightaway.
Your government was formed in the year 2004. You had even dismissed the efficient Defence Secretary in one moment.
Not only this, you had insulted the governors, kept them in darkness and dismissed them. We haven’t done anything like this. I may address to Ghulam Nabi ji, an ex- Health Minister, wherein a secretary from your department had received a Nobel Prize from UN for polio. You had dismissed him, while he was receiving the award from UN. So, we need to decide, what all can be revealed here in the assembly. Even though I am new here, I have a huge treasure of information with me.
And therefore, we have decided and we are keenly determined to move in the direction of Good Governance. One more fact has come up into consideration that we have received some from our supporters, some from those who think positive of us and some from those who have special love for us. And, I have received a lot of love from many of who have bestowed special love.
“We can see nothing on the ground. I really admire Modi ji’s statements, his way of thinking, but I am unable to see any result on the grounds.” I would like to say to my supporters that you have been in government for ages and are intoxicated with Power. I pray to God to save all of us from that intoxication of power. As, when we are addicted to Power, the addiction becomes quite high, so when the head is quite high above the ground, we are unable to look down and see the ground level. I believe, the more you look down, the more you connect with people, so I would like the people here who have asked about ground to understand how the work is done.
Railways and Highways, both are run by the Government. However, there has, always been a clash between the two, as the Railways would never allow more than 350 projects of Highways and, the latter would never give permissions to Railways for more projects. Some need to build a railway line across the road line and some need to build an over bridge across the railway line. There were 350 projects, we came and we noticed and asked both the departments to sit across the table and clear all the misunderstandings and got a MoU signed between the two, and today I am happy to announce that we have introduced an Online Portal for the same. Online clearances are now being provided. The projects, which were stuck in these departments for the past 350 years, stand all clear now. Now, if any new project is undertaken, it has been decided to clear the same within 60 days. At present, we have just 22 projects in hand, which are under process. This is a pure example of Good Governance and this is how a work is done.
Let me give you the details of the work done on the grounds. I will speak of the UPA first, wherein 7.4 Km per day of highway were awarded, but only 5.2 Km per day used to be achieved. Anand ji, let me give you the accounts of work done within 9 months now. We award the work of 18 Km per day, and we have received the reports that we achieve 10.1 Km per day. Its double and this is how a work is done, and government can run on the ground level.
Railway:
2013-14-New line- UPA- 390 Km.
New line- 9 months- NDA 2410 Km.
2013-14 - Gauge Conversion - 585 Km.
Our 9 months - 700 Km.
UPA - doubling - 675 Km.
Our - 810 Km.
I am trying to convey that we are connected to the grounds of our country, and I am sure you will be able to see the results on the ground through our work.
Adarsh Gram Scheme: I would like to convey my special gratitude and appreciate the work of few respected members of the parliament. About 600 members have joined hands and supported in this work with all their hearts. I have been informed, I love to speak about people in this way, especially, if I have to speak of our Respected Motilal ji Veera, he has done a tremendous work in a village called Mohali, Chhatisgarh. He took initiatives to open Jan Dhan accounts for all the Ration card holders, connected the people with Aadhaar Cards, built committees for safeguarding government distribution, so that the poor can be benefited through PDS system. Respected Motilal ji has worked on these important grounds.
So, if the members of the parliament take such initiatives and interests, it can help the villages to transform with a new developed shape. I have all the information about the members. I would like to mention the name of our member, Kamakhya Prasad from Jorhat, who has come up with perfect safety schemes for ICDS and mid-day meals, so that the children can get proper meals. Our own Aviation minister, Shri Ashok ji, who has adopted a village in Andhra Pradesh, took a pledge and surrendered himself to eliminate the prevailing alcohol intake in the village. The village members were used to drinking alcohol and have the licence for alcohol shops. If we have the support of all the members, we have move forward in the path of Good Governance and achieve our goals.
You must be aware of the Labour practices, wherein our labourers who had slogged day and night, and should be allotted the amount of Rs. 27,000 crores, which is not a small amount, but they are unable to receive the amount. Why? As some labourers are paid just Rs. 50, Rs. 100 or Rs. 200, and they cannot stick to just one place for work. If he relocates to some other workplace, he has to bear extra fare for reaching the old workplace for receiving the payment of Rs. 50 or Rs 100. There are no accounts of the labourers, who died for any reason. There is no proper account of their payments and our government treasury has Rs. 27,000 crores, which belongs to the labourers.
We have tried to formulate the UAN (Universal Account Number) policy. With the help of this UAN policy, labourers will be receiving their payments in their accounts, irrespective of their location. With this, the labourers will be able to receive their pending amount of payment, from the treasury of Rs. 27,000 crore, which is lying with the government. This money belongs to the Poor and is it their rightful money. The government doesn’t want to use this money for any other cause, we want to pay the money back to the labourers. I believe, this is a result of Good Governance and will have a positive impact in the development of our nation.
If we speak of Prime Minister People’s Money, I don’t want to take much of your time for discussing the same.
We have been discussing MNREGA repeatedly. What I spoke in the last assembly, I would not be repeating the same here, as that has been registered appropriately and has been addressed. Now, I would like to talk about Aadhaar Cards and MNREGA. I don’t want to criticize and make comparison between them. But, I have the strength and culture to say that, all our governments have contributed to the development of our nation. Our country must have faced various obstacles in reaching what we are today, nonetheless, huge contributions have been done. Let us speak of the working of Aadhaar cards:
In 45 months under UPA, which is almost 3.5 years, 7 crore Aadhaar settlements took place.
In 9 months under NDA, 17 crore settlements took place.
So, we can see the difference between 45 months and 9 months.
You have to compare between 45 months and 9 months.
In 45 months of UPA government, 5,000 Aadhar cards were linked with MNREGA. And at the time NDA government, 8 Lac Aadhar cards have been linked with this scheme. Now compare 5000 in 45 months versus 8 Lakhs in just 9 months?
At the time of UPA, 1.7 Crore Aadhar cards were linked with Job Cards. We have added 5 Crore people in 9 months. Compare 1.7 Crores versus 5 Crores?
And therefore, I said that both policy and practices needs to be developed.
We talk about MNREGA and job guarantee for 100 days for poor people. During 2013-14, average days of employment under this scheme were 42.5 days only, which is well short of 50%.
And how many persons got jobs for 100 days during 2013-14? Only 6.35%. and when this issue was brought to the notice of honorable Supreme Court, it was admitted by UPA government, that they have no audit report for the expenses incurred, amounting to Rs. 1 Lakh Crore in the last five years in MNREGA. This affidavit has been filed by you in Supreme Court.
We talk a lot about plans, discussions related to it, credit, rules and strict laws. Nation wants us to do the best, for the benefit of poor people and try to improve the life style of a common man. And you will see that in 9 months that the government is working in the same direction.
Respected Mayawati ji has discussed about Bundelkhand. Bundelkhand is divided into two states – Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh. An amount of Rs. 3,760 crore was disbursed for six districts of Madhya Pradesh. At the same time, an amount of Rs. 3506 Crore was disbursed for seven districts of Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh spent 96% amount out of it and you can see the results. Bundelkhand connected to Madhya Pradesh has shown a drastic improvement in wheat yield from 1,629 kilogram per hectare to 2,323 kilogram per hectare. The amount given has been used for irrigation of 1,42,000 hectare land. Milk production has improved from 9 Lakh ton to 12 Lakh ton. Around 561 milk cooperative societies have been initiated. Drinking water consumption has improved from 40 litres per person to 55 litres. Since you belong to Uttar Pradesh, I would not like to share the progress report for the Bundelkhand connected to Uttar Pradesh. Maybe your concern is quite genuine, but I have shared the facts about other part connected to Madhya Pradesh.
We had a discussion on Bengal also. There are some people who are trying to run this country with imported ideology. They ruled the Bengal for 30 years. But Derek, I won’t blame you for the current situation. You can do what you want but the CR should remain OK. In the past 30 years, the image of West Bengal, which once was known as capital of industrial activity in India, and Kolkata, which was once known as industrial capital has been completely destroyed. West Bengal was one of the industrial development leaders for agricultural growth. In last 30 years, agricultural growth is reduced to minus figures. West Bengal’s share in industrial development is reduced to 4% from 10%. During 1976-77, 7.6% percent of total factories were running in Bengal which was reduced to 4% in 2008-09. During 1966-76, Industrial growth was 17.3% which was reduced to 7.8% during 2001-07. During 2007 National sample survey, it was observed that Bengal is the most affected state suffering from starvation. Only 60% schools have functional toilets for girl compared to national average of 75%.
Yesterday, Sitaram ji was discussing about closure of Nokia factory in Chennai. The nation wants us to create jobs and we have to try our best in this direction. To complete this task, we have to promote ‘Make in India’ campaign. Speed of infrastructure will decide job opportunities, and to increase the job opportunities, we should focus on infrastructure.
Yesterday, Shri Sitarajm ji had shown concern for closure of Nokia factory in Chennai and for 25000 employees who lost their job. I would like to state that this factory was not closed down due to our government’s policy. It has been closed due to certain steps taken by the previous government. I acknowledge your concern. Yes, 25000 employees have lost their job. But I would like to assure you, that we have taken necessary steps. And we hope that Nokia will resume shortly and jobs will be created. So we are already working in this direction.
The President, in his address has talked about Digital India. Honorable Chairman Sir, It is true that once there was a global theory of haves and have nots. I believe that in the coming days, digital divide could be one of the reasons for poverty and backwardness. Therefore, nation must not face the situation of Digital Divide. And to stop the Digital Divide, we need to associate even the poorest of the poor with digital technology. India is having more than 90 crore mobile users and is likely to touch the 100 crore mark very soon. We wish to introduce mobile governance.
How can the poorest of the poor become a part of this system?
And when we talk of Digital India, we should aim to take the BPOs from centers like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad to the North East where the youth is well versed with the English language and can speak it fluently. We are trying our best to proceed in that direction to arrange for a regular means of income for the youth.
Everyone has also expressed their concerns over the issue of Black Money. This is the topic where nobody ever has expressed their thoughts before. Only we kept talking about it. And we had a lot of figures at that time. I believe that when Supreme Court had ordered to form SIT, back in 2011, our dream of extracting all the money stashed away in foreign banks would have been possible. However, SIT was not formed as the time as there were vested interests. If SIT was formed at the time, and all the procedures had started, it wouldn`t have been as difficult and time consuming to bring back the money. And I believe that even now all money stashed abroad must be brought back to the country. We are doing whatever legally required to address this issue. Also, whether it is about the G-20 summit, or about the dialogue with Switzerland or talking to America about MoU, we are on signing a MoU to exchange information with the world. One after other new countries are joining this movement because without proper information we won`t be able to fight this battle.
On the other hand, Indian citizens will have to declare information about any property or wealth that they have stashed away on foreign shores, as per the new laws. As a result of this, things will come into light and it is in this manner that we plan for bringing back the black money. We will complete this procedure and we must do this!
All the respected members present here have expressed their concerns over land acquisition. This is a gathering of seniors and I assure all of you that under this scheme, I have ensured from Day 1 that if there is anything against the farmers of the country, we are ready to correct it. But what has been promulgated has its flaws because we were a participant in that. We won`t deny that we had not done this. If we had done something good then don’t give credit to us but there has been a wrongdoing, then we too are responsible for it. But now we should come out of it - for the betterment and development of the country. And I don`t want to make into an ego issue or play politics here.
We will need land for irrigation in order to ensure that the farmers have enough water for their crops and thus thePrime Minister`s Krishi Sinchai Yojana will be a success. We will need land to make roads in villages and also to make houses for the poor under the Rural Housing scheme. And there is no provision in our current laws. Hence I request you not to spread rumors that there is a deduction in compensation. No one has ever tweaked the rules of compensation before. As decided the compensation will remain the same and there won`t be any decrease in that. But the law was made in 2013. What happened? It was implemented in January, 2014. The rule was implemented in Haryana in the month of July despite the fact that Congress was the ruling party there. They refused to give the compensation as decided by the rules made under the law.
Not just that, we made these laws in Maharashtra where Congress was the ruling party. This means that states are finding it difficult to function as per these laws...I am not talking about Congress or BJP here...but they are definitely facing problems and finding it difficult. And all the states have expressed their despair, and as this is the Council of States, it is our duty to protect all states. And it is our first responsibility of this council to act upon the concern that the states have expressed and ensure that law does not prove to be a burden on the states and rework it according to the hopes and aspirations of the respective states.
The law will stay, we have to remove the flaws. If there is any flaw in that, then we will have to remove it as well. And I invite you all to come and help us in our quest of evolution tour to develop the country. And no matter how intelligent we are, we should consider the fact that the laws that have helped the country develop and also served the farmers of the country from 1894 to 2014, a total of 120 years, would not have lost its efficiency overnight. We have to think about the farmers of our country and strive to protect them but we have to do it together and this is my insistence.
There`s another misconception that is being spread, perhaps not intentionally but due to wrong information. I request you to not do this. The government has no intention to deduct anything from the 67% promised coverage for the poor. Some are spreading rumors about the decrease of coverage from 67 % to 40%, I believe that this will not happen and I request you to refrain from spreading such rumors and trouble us. This devolution that has happened...the work assigned to them was the restructuring of Food Corporation of India. See there are 50 different types of reports that comes to the government. You also must have submitted reports, but it is not on the basis of reports, the government only conveys its decision. I only inform you about the government`s decision. And I believe you are the connected with government`s decisions. Another thing is that due to this 42% devolution, the following changes will be seen...Derek ji, West Bengal will get Rs. 22,000 crore extra, Andhra Pradesh will get Rs. 15,000 crore extra, Orissa will get Rs. 8,000 crore extra. Likewise, I can tell all the extra money that every state will be getting but for now, I have brought the list of only 3 states. The budget features a comprehensive list comprising of Telangana as well. Everyone is getting 42 percent.
Now the biggest thing about the rise of royalty on minerals that has been increased by 1.5 per cent which is going to benefit mostly the eastern regions of the country. Not only that, the money raised by the coal auctions will also be given to the states. Till date, 19 coal mines have been auctioned and more than Rs 1 lakh crore has been generated from the same. This money will also be given to these states. According to the calculation, of the total amount received, the bulk 62% will be with the states and only 38% will be with the center. This is a proper procedure that is being implemented and hence some people advice that it needs to be verified.
Not only that, Foreign Policies were also discussed. In the current scenario, it is safe to assume that as opposed to earlier, the world is divided into different parts now. The dynamics of the camps of this world has changed over the years. To protect the supreme interest of India is the centre point of our foreign policy. I had said this before the elections, post it and even after becoming the Prime Minister of the country that the world needs to realise the greatness of India. As far as the foreign policy is concerned, our stance would be to build relationships with the world. We want to build deeper bonds with the neighbouring nations. However, we will be at par with the rest of the nations and never be subdued in front of them in order to build good relationships. However, we will also not be dominant. We just want to be at par with the other nations and develop healthy and fruitful relationships with all of them.
We are working in that direction and you will be happy to know about the return of Father Prem`s return from the clutches of the terrorists in Afghanistan which cannot be termed as an ordinary event. And in the past 9 months, 12000 Indians that have been stuck in various parts of the world have been retrieved back to the country. The nurses from Kerala, who were stuck with the terrorists, have also been brought back to the country, safe and sound. The government had provided them with air tickets to their home state.
Another important discussion was the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. I want to assure the house and also 125 crore Indians that the government formed in Jammu and Kashmir is on the basis of Common Minimum Programme and will continue to function with the same idea. We can`t support it on the basis of someone`s statement. The government will go forward with a zero tolerance policy towards terrorism. But if we continue to react to every statement made, I believe that we will not proceed in the correct direction. We are proceeding with our rules and plans.
I will tell this clearly that the voters of Kashmir have not only honored democracy by coming out in maximum numbers to vote but they have also sent out a loud and clear message to the world about Kashmir. And hence, the fact that India had been advocating since the past 50 years, Kashmir voters had managed to put a seal of approval on it. Hearty congratulations to them! I congratulate the citizens of Kashmir. And we place our trust in the citizens of Kashmir and for the trust that they have placed in us, we promise to protect the unity and integrity of the country. And hence, once again I would like to say through the medium of this house and the head of the house that we assure that we will follow the proposals for the betterment of Kashmir, approved by the councils of India. There will be no compromise on the subject and I assure this to the people of the country.
I would once again request the assembly to approve the President`s speech, of his proposal of vote of thanks with consensus. I would like to thank everyone.
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