Modi attacks Congress, says every rupee now reaching desired end
Janjgir Champa (Chhattisgarh), Sep 22: Attacking the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said unlike earlier times, there is no corruption in his government and every rupee meant for development is reaching the desired end.
He said that after coming to power, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government ended the system of giving benefit of social schemes selectively to those who voted for a particular party, or those close to some politicians.
Speaking at a rally here, Modi said more roads were constructed in Chhattisgarh in the last four years than built since Independence.
"Wasn't there money available before? (Road Transport and Highways) Department before? Engineers before? And people's demand before? Yet it didn't happen. Why?
"That's because, as one of the Congress Prime Ministers said, only 15 paise out of every rupee spent on development reached the villages," the Prime Minister said.
Making a reference to Congress' election symbol, he said: "Which was this hand which made rupee to value only 15 paise?"
"Today, the development is happening for one reason -- the same rupee, which then accounted for 15 paise worth of work, is today leading to 100 paise worth of work. That's why the work is now visible," Modi said.
He added that while poor always demanded that they should be given homes and many political parties promised it during polls, this never happened.
"There were big slogans about eliminating poverty. But did poor get homes? And even if they did, it were the peons of some big bureaucrat, or a servant of some politician," he said.
The Prime Minister added that his government changed the system and decided there will be no discrimination based on caste, religion or vote bank.
"We decided that schemes will be made for all and they should benefit everyone. We decided that by 2022 -- which marks 75 years of Independence -- no family in India would be left without a home and the poorest of poor will have a roof over their heads...not just those who are thought of as a vote bank," he said.
He said similarly, when the government decided to build toilets, they chose those villages where people voted for them.
"But we decided that this won't work. If toilets will be built, they will be built for all."
"If rich families get LPG connection, then poor will get it, too. In four years, we gave as many LPG connections as earlier governments gave since Independence," Modi said.
He said the government also decided to fulfil the long-time demand of farmers to get fair price for their produce.
"For 60 years, they ran the government. But it was when our government came to power that we agreed to their demand and announced that farmers will get minimum support price one-and-a-half times their production cost," Modi said.
He hailed Chief Minister Raman Singh for his initiatives to end the "menace of naxalism" and bringing development at the doorsteps of poor and tribal.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Jamshedpur man among crew of LPG vessel back from West Asia, family heaves sigh of relief
Jamshedpur (PTI): A family in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur heaved a sigh of relief after learning that the Indian-flagged LPG vessel Shivalik, on which their son was working, had safely reached Gujarat's Mundra port after crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in West Asia.
Mithilesh Tripathy said his only son, Ansh Tripathy, who serves as the second engineer on the vessel, was responsible for monitoring the ship's technical operations during the journey through the strategically crucial maritime corridor.
Tripathy said he last spoke to his son over a WhatsApp call about four to five days ago, when the vessel was leaving Qatar.
"They were instructed to maintain a safe distance from the Strait of Hormuz until they received the green signal from headquarters. The Indian government was negotiating with Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage," Tripathy told PTI.
ALSO READ: USCIRF claims religious freedom continued to deteriorate in India, MEA rejects it as 'biased charact
A former flight engineer with the Indian Air Force, Tripathy later worked at Uranium Corporation of India in Jadugora near Jamshedpur. He now lives in a residential society near Pardih in the city.
Speaking about his son, Tripathy said Ansh completed his schooling in Jamshedpur and Jadugora, pursued mechanical engineering at BIT, and later graduated as a marine engineer from Kochi. He joined the Shipping Corporation of India around 2014-15.
"Before leaving Qatar, Ansh told me they were heading towards the Indian Ocean. That was all he said," he added, noting that he did not discuss the number of crew members on board.
Tripathy said the family remained anxious after hearing about the war in West Asia.
"We were extremely worried about Ansh and the crew members since the war broke out in the region. We were glued to the TV for updates," he said, expressing relief after hearing that the ship had reached Mundra port safely.
"It was a very painful time, but we were confident that if my son and the crew returned safely, it would be due to the efforts of PM Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar," he said.
Tripathy said that while people may hold different views about the tensions in West Asia, his experience in the Air Force helped him understand the realities of operating in a conflict zone.
Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, with 92,712 metric tonnes of LPG, crossed the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday following negotiations between India and Iran.
Shivalik arrived at the Mundra Port on Monday with 46,000 metric tonnes of LPG ordered by Indian Oil Corp Ltd, officials said.
While 20,000 MT will be unloaded at Mundra, 26,000 MT will be unloaded at Mangaluru, they said.
Nanda Devi is scheduled to reach Gujarat's Kandla port on Tuesday, they added.
These two ships were among the 24 ships stranded on the west side of the strait since the war broke out in the region.
Besides the 24 on the west side of the strait, four others were stranded on the east side.
India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of its natural gas and 60 per cent of its LPG needs. Before the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's retaliation, more than half of India's crude imports, about 30 per cent of gas and 85-90 per cent of LPG imports came from West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies.
