16,850 villages getting benefits of government's flagship schemes: Shah
New Delhi, May 22: As many as 16,850 villages of 484 districts across the country are getting benefits of seven flagship welfare schemes, including Ujjwala and Saubhagya, of the BJP-led NDA government, BJP President Amit Shah said here on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference on the achievements of Modi government in last four years, he also said the Narendra Modi-government is working to ensure that benefits of all the seven schemes reaches to all villages before it goes to election in 2019 to seek fresh mandate of the people.
"There is not even a single person who has not been getting the benefits of the seven schemes in these villages. With the efforts of Narendra Modi government, we have been successful in connecting all the houses of these villages with electricity. We have provided every hold with gas connection and benefits of social security schemes. They were all given LED lights and all the children below the age of two are vaccinated," Shah said.
Working on the same line, he said, the government is now aiming to extend the benefit of these seven schemes in new 45,000 villages in 115 districts soon.
"We will try to extend the benefit of these seven schemes to new 45,000 villages having the population of more than 1,000 by August 15. Our aim is to slowly extend these benefit to all the villages in the country.
"The benefit of these schemes were given to all the states in the country apart from Karnataka and West Bengal. They were not included due to elections," he said.
Shah said that the Bharatiya Janata Party between April 14 and May 5 has held the "Gram Swaraj Abhiyan" in over 16,500 villages across the country.
Launched on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, the campaign ensured that the benefit of seven programmes - Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya, Ujala scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Mission Indradhanush - reached these 16,850 villages.
During the campaign, a total of 3,68,978 programmes were launched in which over 1 crore people took part, he said while giving a powerpoint presentation over the achievements of the government.
Under the Saubhagya Yojana, more than five lakh households were electrified and under the Ujala scheme over 25 lakh LED bulbs were distributed, while through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, bank accounts opened for over 20 lakh people, who were added to the national economy.
About 11 lakh families were given gas connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, he added.
He said that Modi will address a rally at Cuttack on the completion of his government's four years.
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CM Siddaramaiah's economic advisor denies saying 'Karnataka is no: 1 in corruption'
Bengaluru, Apr 9 (PTI): Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s economic advisor, Basavaraj Rayareddi, on Wednesday said he never claimed that "Karnataka is number one in corruption" during the tenure of the present Congress government.
Rayareddi issued a clarification after a few publications in Karnataka reported that, during a review meeting by a committee for the redressal of regional imbalance, he had told officers that Karnataka tops the country in corruption.
Accusing the media of twisting his statement made in Koppal, the Yelburga Congress MLA said he had only highlighted the perception that "Karnataka is branded as the most corrupt state", which, he said, is unfortunate.
"I did not say that corruption has increased during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s tenure. It’s a phenomenon that has been prevailing for the past two to three decades," Rayareddi told reporters here.
Insisting that he never made such a statement at a press conference, Rayareddi claimed, "I never said Karnataka is the number one corrupt state. I only said that Karnataka is branded as the most corrupt state. This impression has been created due to the poor governance by the previous BJP and JD(S) governments."
The MLA said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was doing commendable work by ensuring fair administration and was supported by dynamic ministers such as Krishna Byre Gowda and Priyank Kharge.
"Our government is doing good work. I support our Chief Minister because he is doing a good job. Whether he makes me a minister or removes me from this assignment (as economic advisor), I will continue to support him," Rayareddi said.
His remarks gave ammunition to the opposition, which has been alleging rampant corruption in the state.
BJP MLA C N Ashwath Narayan appreciated the Yelburga MLA for being candid in “accepting” that corruption has increased in Karnataka.
"We are happy that at least someone from within the Congress spoke about it," Narayan said.
In response, Rayareddi hit out at the BJP and JD(S), saying these two parties brought a bad name to Karnataka, and that some of their ministers had even gone to jail during their tenure.
Rayareddi said he was clear in his speech in Koppal on Tuesday that corruption had increased over the last few decades without blaming any one political party.
According to him, "corruption in North Karnataka is more prevalent compared to the old Mysuru region."
He also remarked that schools built these days collapse within five years, while those built during his father’s time remain intact for decades.
The MLA said he was concerned that corruption has escalated mainly due to electoral politics and felt that a public discussion on the issue was long overdue.
"I am happy that the media presented half the truth about what I said. At least this way, a discussion to curb corruption has begun," he quipped.
