At a function in Shimla, which was organised to mark the eighth anniversary of the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday facilitated the release of ₹21,000 crore as the 11th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) . He took the opportunity to present his government’s performance while criticising the UPA on corruption.

Highlighting that his government pruned nine crore fake names from the list of beneficiaries of various schemes, Modi said: “Be it the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana or scholarship or any other scheme, we have eradicated the scope of corruption through direct transfer of benefits. We have transferred over ₹22 lakh crore to the bank accounts of beneficiaries of various schemes through direct benefit transfer. ”

Modi also said that before 2014, there was news about various scams, but now his government’s development schemes and zero-tolerance against corruption are being discussed. He alleged that corruption was viewed as an essential part of government before 2014. The Assembly poll in Himachal Pradesh is scheduled for November this year, where the ruling BJP will have to take on Congress, even as AAP is seen to make a mark after its Punjab victory.

Referring to the under-construction AIIMS in Bilaspur in the State, he said, “We plan to build a medical college in every district of the country.” He also said that the Baddi industrial unit in Himachal Pradesh played a vital role in manufacturing Covid vaccines as nearly 200 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far. “Now India extends a hand of friendship not under compulsion but to help others, as was done by providing Covid vaccines to several countries,” Modi added.

Vote bank politics

In an indirect reference to the Congress party, the Prime Minister said that vote bank politics has been happening in our country for decades. “The politics of creating your (opposition) own vote bank has done a lot of damage to the country. Now we do not want to create a vote bank but are working to build a new India.”

Interacting with select beneficiaries of the Central schemes from different States, Modi was impressed with the eloquence of Santoshi, a woman from Karnataka’s Kalaburagi, who spoke at length in Kannada prompting him to quip: “had she been a BJP worker he would have asked her to contest polls.” Most of the beneficiaries were from the PM Aawas scheme in which the government has been providing direct financial support for construction of pucca houses.