PM: I consider bhagidar comment a compliment
LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit back at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his ‘chowkidar-bhagidar’ remark, saying he took it as a compliment.
“These days I am dubbed a ‘bhagidar’ (partner) and not ‘chowkidar’ (watchman). I feel honoured to be a ‘bhagidar’ of the problems of the poor,” the prime minister said, referring to Gandhi’s insinuation that he was a ‘collaborator’ in graft.
“I take this allegation as an honour, I am proud to be a ‘bhagidar’ of the pain suffered by the poor, the hardworking labour class, the agony of a sad mother, a poor farmer whose crops get destroyed by natural calamities, of soldiers who brave bone-chilling weather as well as scorching heat,” he said.
“I am a ‘bhagidar’ of that poor family which is forced to sell its land for medical treatment, of the homeless, of illiterate children, and of the unemployed,” he said.
The prime minister was speaking at an event here to mark the third anniversary of three government initiatives related to urban development.
He said the government will provide a roof to all homeless people by 2022, reiterating his government’s promise. Modi will be back in Lucknow tomorrow to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for projects involving an investment of Rs 60,000 crore, pledged after an investors’ summit here earlier this year.
In an attack on Modi on several issues, including the controversial Rafale jet deal, during the recent debate on the no-confidence motion against the government, Rahul Gandhi said the PM had promised to be a ‘chowkidar’ but had become a ‘bhagidar’ Modi was speaking at a programme here on “Transforming Urban Landscape”, marking the third anniversary of three key government initiatives related to urban development -- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Smart Cities Mission.
He also went around an exhibition on Flagship Missions of Urban Development and interacted with PMAY(U) beneficiaries and launched various projects related to urban housing and infrastructure and the Smart City scheme.