Villages need to be self-reliant and strong, says Prime Minister Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invoked Mahatma Gandhi, saying his dream of rural development should be fulfilled as India celebrates 75 years of Independence.

On a visit to his home state a day after BJP stormed back to power in Uttar Pradesh, and also retained Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, Modi addressed over one lakh representatives from the three tiers of the Panchayati Raj institutions in the state at the Panchayat Mahasammelan.

Earlier in the day, he held a roadshow in the capital of poll-bound Gujarat. Villages need to be self-reliant and strong, Modi said, and gave goals to village representatives for overall development of rural centres.

"Gujarat is the land of Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) and Sardar Patel. Bapu always talked about rural development, self-reliant villages. Today, as we are marking 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', we must fulfil Bapu's dream of rural development," he said. "A robust Panchayati Raj infrastructure is key to fulfilling the dream of Gram Swaraj.

All the panchayat members and sarpanchs are working towards achieving the objective," he said. Mahatma Gandhi always spoke of rural development, self-reliance and strong villages, Modi said.