A day after Congress scion Rahul Gandhi claimed that there is no democracy in India under the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed him for not walking the talk. The former Congress president had said yesterday, “Which democracy are you talking about? Are you talking about India? There is no democracy in India. Democracy in India…it may be in your imagination but not in reality.”
PM Modi responded, “Even after Supreme Court has directed that Panchayati and municipal elections should be conducted in Puducherry, the elections are not being conducted there. Those who keep on teaching me lessons on democracy are the ones who are running their government there.” It may be noted that the Congress party is in power in the Union Territory of Puducherry.
At the same time, PM Modi hailed the residents of Kashmir for peacefully conducting elections for the District Development Council and choosing their elected representatives in a short period. He also launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) SEHAT scheme in Jammu and Kashmir.
PM Modi highlights the reason behind the PDP-BJP split
Recounting the PDP-BJP alliance and the firm commitment to the ethos of democracy, he added, “We were in J&K government. But you know why we walked out of the government. Our demand was panchayat elections should be held and people be given their due rights to choose their representatives. Now you have your representatives who will work for you.”
PM Modi stated that the residents of Jammu and Kashmir not only came out to vote in large numbers, amidst Coronavirus outbreak but also upheld the vision of ‘Gram Swaraj’ of Mahatma Gandhi.
PM Modi launches SEHAT scheme in Jammu and Kashmir
While speaking at the event, PM Modi said, “This is a historic day for J&K. Every people of J&K will get benefits of Ayushman Bharat scheme. I wanted to launch this scheme yesterday on the occasion of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary. Atalji had a special connection with J&K, which is now prospering on his way of ‘Insaniyat, Jamhuriyat and Kashmiriyat.”
Ramesh Lal, a resident of Jammu and a beneficiary of Ayushman Bharat Yojna, thanked PM Modi and said, “All 5 members of my family have Ayushman Bharat Golden Card. We are thankful to PM Modi for this scheme. If I didn’t have the card it would have been difficult for me to get treatment for cancer.” The Prime Minister encouraged him to share about the scheme and its benefits to the people he meets.
PM Modi interacts with Ramesh Lal, a cancer patient from Jammu, who is a beneficiary of Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2020
“Ayushman Bharat has made your life ‘ayushman’. I urge you to tell everyone you meet about this scheme and its benefits,” says PM pic.twitter.com/IxOPCH6PA2
The scheme will benefit over 21 lac people as per the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) of 2011. At the same time, eligible individuals can avail services at 24,148 hospitals, registered under the scheme.