Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Congress of insulting tribal traditions and culture and said that people from the community would “teach a lesson” to the grand old party, PTI reported. PM Modi made the remarks at a rally after inaugurating and laying foundation stones for various projects at Vyara in the tribal-dominated Tapi district of Gujarat.
PM Modi claimed that previous Congress leaderships did nothing to better the condition of tribal people because they were only concerned with winning elections.
“Congress even used to make fun of tribal customs and traditions. If at any function I wore a tribal pagdi (headgear) or jacket, they used to make fun of me. I want to tell the Congress party that the tribal population will not forget the insult of their customs and traditions and they will teach you a lesson,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister said his government’s priority was to ensure the welfare of tribals by providing to them pucca houses with electricity and gas connections, road connectivity and schools for the children from the community.
PM Modi has been in Gujarat, his home state, on a two-day visit. Assembly elections are scheduled in Gujarat later this year.
PM Modi claimed that Mangubhai Patel, the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, and Drupadi Murmuthe country’s President, were both from the tribal community.
“I tell you that your forefathers faced a lot of difficulties, but due to our work you are facing less difficulties now. Now, we want to ensure that your children do not have to face such difficulties in future,” PTI quoted PM Modi as saying.
PM Modi said tribal welfare had always been accorded top priority by state governments led by BJP.
“My tribal brothers and sisters should have their own pucca house with electricity, gas connection, toilet, a road leading to the house, a medical centre nearby, means of income in the vicinity, and a school for children,” he said.
The prime minister said there were very few schools in the entire tribal belt from Umargam to Ambaji about 20-25 years ago.
“Under the ‘Mission School of Excellence’ that was inaugurated yesterday in Gujarat, about 4,000 schools in tribal talukas will be modernized. It is our resolve to make the tribal society completely free from the problems of malnutrition. That is why the central government has started a huge ‘Poshan Abhiyan’ through which thousands of rupees are being given to help mothers have nutritious food during pregnancy,” he said.
According to Modi, the budgetary allocation for the welfare of tribals have grown more than threefold in the last 7-8 years.
In Vyara, the PM laid the foundation stone for many development projects totaling more than Rs 1,970 crore.
He laid the foundation stone for the improvement of a road from Saputara to ‘Statue of Unity’ along with construction of missing links. Other projects whose foundation stone were laid include water supply projects worth over Rs 300 crore in Tapi and Narmada districts.
(With inputs from PTI)