VARANASI: Calling upon the countrymen to join him in turning India into a $ 5 trillion economy to transform each and every life for good, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a veiled attack on opposition for criticising the economic goal as ‘unachievable.”
He said the criticism only emboldened the resolve to “achieve unachievable.”
Addressing party workers in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi while launching BJP's mega membership drive on Saturday, PM Modi deliberated, at length, over the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday.
"The term 5 trillion dollar economy has caught people’s imagination since the budget presentation. Can we achieve this? This Budget has something for everyone. It promises to ensure the development of all sections of society including farmers, youth, poor, deprived and downtrodden and working class,” said the PM.
However, he trained guns at the opposition saying many people had questioned the target.
“But criticism only strengthens my resolve. Woh jo saamne mushkilon ka ambaar hai, uss hi se to mere haunslon ki minar hai (I draw strength from the heap of troubles in front of me)," said Modi lyrically through a verse.
Reiterating the 'New India' pitch, the PM claimed that 'New India' was on the threshold of racing ahead.
Explaining his government's economic goal for next five yeras, he said: “Size of the cake matters,” implying that the bigger the cake, the greater everyone’s share was bound to be."
“This wealth will not only transform the earning of each family but also their lives and lifestyles,” he added.
He wanted the countrymen to come out of the mental knot of celebrating poverty.
"We will have to stop taking pride in being poor as it was connected to the cycle of low-income, low-expenditure thus holding the economic growth back. Welcoming a constructive debate, discussions and suggestions to take the country forward, Modi said he had immense faith in the capabilities of countrymen."
"They have made the impossible possible earlier. This time also, we will achieve the set economic target," reiterated the PM while dropping a word of caution against the critics calling them 'professional pessimists'.
“A discussion on the ways and means of achieving the difficult target must happen but rejecting it downright can’t be the right approach,” he said while slamming the budget detractors.
Describing self as a ‘son of Kashi,’ Modi exhorted the BJP cadre to toil harder in coming days and go door-to-door to explain government’s dream of turning India into a $5 trillion economy actually meant for them.
Modi even called upon people to dream big to achieve big in life while enumerating a number of missions like Swachh Bharat, housing for all, toilets for all and attributed their success to the people of the country.
"No dream can be fulfilled by the government alone without people’s participation. We first need to have faith and then work towards achieving our dream,” he said.
He also stressed over the need to save and conserve water and environment. "We will have to take water conservation forward with a missionary zeal to save the country from scarcity. The same zeal which I saw for Swachh Bharat Mission," he said.
Describing the scale of the development needed to double India’s economic output, Prime Minister said 1.25 lakh km long roads will be built in the coming years along with 2 crore houses for the rural population by 2022.
Rs 100 lakh crores will have to be spent in the next few years to create Infrastructure needed for India of 21st century India, PM said added while listing the chief proposals of the Budget 2019.