Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually attends the ‘Viksit Bharat, Viksit Madhya Pradesh’ programme, on Feb. 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The slogan ‘Abki Baar, 400 Paar (This time, above 400)’ was not coined by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but by the public itself to bring back the current government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.
“Today, there is only one thing being heard everywhere: ‘Abki Baar, 400 Paar’. This has happened for the first time that the public itself has elevated a slogan like this to bring back its beloved government. It has not been given by the BJP,” Mr. Modi said, virtually addressing the ‘Viksit Bharat, Viksit Madhya Pradesh‘ programme, a part of the Centre’s Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra.
Mr. Modi inaugurated or laid foundation stones for development projects worth more than ₹17,550 crore in the State, including various irrigation, rail, road, power, and industry projects. He also inaugurated a Vedic clock in Ujjain, the Vikramaditya Vedic Ghari based on the Hindu panchang, as well as the Cyber Tehsil project of the Madhya Pradesh Government.
High ambitions
The BJP has set a target for its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to win more than 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, aiming for 370-plus seats for the BJP alone.
Mr. Modi said that for him, it was not simply about an ambition to form the government for the third time. “We are entering the poll fray to make the nation the third largest economy in the world during the third term. Forming the government is not the final aim for us. It is a medium of making the nation for us,” he added.
Supporting indigenous toys
Hitting out at the Congress, Mr. Modi alleged that it had “destroyed” India’s traditional strength in manufacturing. “We have had a tradition of making toys. But it had come to a situation that, until a few years ago, our markets and our homes used to be filled with imported toys,” he said, adding that his government had helped local toy manufacturers.
The Prime Minister claimed that the import of toys from outside the country has now reduced significantly. “We are now exporting more toys than we used to import earlier,” he added, addressing toy manufacturers in areas such as Budhni.
Mr. Modi also said that next five years would see be an unprecedented empowerment of women. “In the coming five years, there will be several lakhpati didi [women who earn more than ₹1 lakh] in every village. They will also become Nano Drone Didis [women drone pilots] and bring revolutions in agriculture,” said the Prime Minister, claiming that the financial status of women would improve.
Path to development
The Vedic clock inaugurated by the Prime Minister is touted to be the first such device in the world. He said that the clock would become a witness to the “kaal chakra [time period] when India is on the path to becoming a developed nation”.
The Cyber Tehsil project being implemented in all 55 districts of M.P. aims to provide a single revenue court for the whole State and ensure paperless, faceless, end-to-end online disposal of changes in land sale and ownership documents and record correction in revenue records.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for irrigation projects worth more than ₹5,512 crore, inaugurated railway projects constructed at a cost of more than ₹2,200 crore, and coal sector projects worth more than ₹1,000 crore, among others.
