Nation above all, our top priority... not votes: PM
SHAHANSHAHPUR (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday fiercely criticized his political rivals, saying that for the BJP, politics is not for the sake of votes as it considers the country's development its topmost priority. "Some politicians work only when it fetches them votes. But we have been brought up in a different culture. For us, the nation is above all and it is our topmost priority, not votes," he said.
Modi was addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the first 'Pashu Arogya Mela' (cattle health fair) here on the second day of his two-day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi. Stressing that his government's prime agenda is development, he said "Governance is not about politics or winning elections. The priority is the wellbeing of the nation."
"Our (BJP) politics is not for votes, our culture is different. In politics, people do only that task which yields votes, but our character is different," Modi said. Referring to the mega animal fair spread over 1,800 acres of land here, he said "these animals don't go to cast their ballot. They are not anyone's voters."
He said that by 2022, when the country celebrates 75th year of Independence, "every poor, whether in urban or rural area, will get a home". Modi, who also distributed Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana certificates to some beneficiaries, said, "When crores of houses are built across the country, it will require bricks, cement, iron and wood. It will generate jobs for thousands and open up new avenues of income and employment."
"If Modi will not take up such an arduous task, who else will," he asked, noting that crores of families are still homeless. The Prime Minister also promised to double farm income by 2022 as he congratulated UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for organising the Pashudhan Arogya Mela, which he said "will benefit farmers across the state."
"Doubling of farmers' income is an area in which significant work is being done," he said and added, "Let us build on the strides we have made in the dairy sector. Cooperatives can help in this regard as they have in other parts of the nation."
Modi said that proper health care of the cattle through such initiatives would help increase milk production in India which is lower than in several countries. Encouraging farmers to adopt dairy farming and animal husbandry as alternative sources of income, he said such initiatives would lead to "a new path of progress" that would not only raise farmers' income but also the overall national income.