K’BURAGI/YADGIR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched projects worth over Rs 10,800 crore in the Kalyana Karnataka region and handed over property title deeds to people from the Banjara community, adding heft to BJP’s development push ahead of the state Assembly polls.
In his second visit to Karnataka within a week, the PM emphasised the “double-engine government” push for the development and welfare of people and hit out at the opposition for neglecting development by indulging in vote-bank politics.
“The focus of the double-engine government on infrastructure and reforms is turning Karnataka into an investors’ choice,” the PM said after launching projects including the Extension, Renovation and Modernisation Project (ENMP) of Narayanpur Left Bank Canal at Kodekal of Yadgir district.
Later in the day, at a programme in Malkhed of Kalaburagi district, he initiated the distribution of Hakku Patras (property title deeds) to 51,900 people of the Banjara community, which is a significant number, and registered in the World Book of Records. In Kodekal and Malkhed, the PM slammed the opposition parties that were in power earlier, for treating Dalits, suppressed classes and the Banjara community as vote banks, and not working for their welfare.
Country cannot forget Lambanis’ contribution: PM
The living condition of the Congress party leaders has improved considerably, the PM taunted. The Lambani community is in significant numbers in Kalaburagi, the home district of AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kalaburagi seat. The PM’s event in the district is also seen as part of the BJP’s efforts to consolidate the party’s base in the AICC president’s home district.
Modi said the country would not forget the contribution of the Banjara community, which had contributed significantly in improving water sources in Gujarat and Rajasthan. But, in Karnataka so far they were deprived of basic facilities as they were not possessing title deeds for their properties and their thandas (hamlets) were not considered revenue villages, he said.
Now the Karnataka revenue department has distributed Hakku Patras to 51,900 people belonging to the Banjara community in a single day, which is a record, he said. “Banjara community should not feel that they are orphans; you always remember that your son is in New Delhi who cares for your welfare,” Modi said, referring to himself.
He praised the state government for development works in north Karnataka. He said the next 25 years are ‘Amrit Kaal’ for the country and every state. “We have to create Viksit Bharat during this Amrit Kaal. This can happen only when every person, family and state gets associated with this campaign. India can be developed when the life of the farmer in the field and the entrepreneur is improved. India can be developed when there is good crop, and factory output expands. This will need learning from the negative experiences and bad policies of the past”, he said.
Citing examples of works accomplished in the double engine government, the Prime Minister noted that when the Jal Jeevan mission began three-and-a-half years ago, only three crore rural families had piped water connection out of 18 crore rural families. “Today that number has gone up to 11 crore rural families,” the Prime Minister continued, “Out of these, 35 lakh families are from Karnataka.” He noted that the coverage of water per household in Yadgir and Raichur is higher than the overall average of Karnataka and the country,” he added.
The PM complimented Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his team for the progress in all the departments, and said the double engine government is striving for the implementation of the irrigation projects.
PM’S KALABURAGI EVENT ENTERS RECORD BOOKS
PM Narendra Modi’s programme in poll-bound Karnataka entered the record books, for distribution of the highest number of hakku patras (property title deeds) to 51,900 people in Kalaburagi.