Want people to stop depending on doles: Modi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 4

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the previous governments wanted people to live on doles, while he wanted people to stop depending on government largesse.

He was speaking at Dehradun in election-bound Uttarakhand after having laid the foundation stone of Rs 18,000 crore road projects, including the Delhi-Dehradun economic corridor. “The proposed corridor will reduce the travel time between Delhi and Dehradun by half, besides benefiting Haridwar, Shamli and Baghpat,” the PM said.

Road is tough

People must give up their dependence on the government doles. The road is tough, but it will serve the interest of the country and people in a better manner. —Narendra Modi, Prime Minster

In the past five years, the Centre approved development projects worth Rs one lakh crore for Uttarakhand, he said.

Sharing his vision on development, PM Modi said the government should create infrastructure to help people become self-dependent.

“There are certain political parties, which do not want the public to become strong. They want people to remain helpless, weak and dependent on government doles,” Modi said.

He further said, “Because of these parties, the idea of government as a ‘mai baap’ (provider) has found many adherents. People think that they can make a living only if the government came to their rescue.”

He claimed his government had an alternative approach. “People must give up their dependence on the government. The road is tough, but it will serve the interest of the country and people better.”

He gave the example of farmers, who have installed solar panels in their fields to generate electricity, to show that dependence on government could be ended.