New Delhi, March 17 Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday criticized the Congress and opposition-led state governments for ignoring the plight of the needy and marginalized, and said he "disgusted" at such politics that ruins the lives of poor people.
In response to a discussion on the functioning of the Rural Development Ministry in the Rajya Sabha, he said that opposition states do not implement many welfare schemes aimed at the poor, because they include the name of the "Prime Minister."
For example, the Tamil Nadu government has not approved 1.93 lakh houses. Similarly, in Karnataka, out of 7 lakh houses, 3.8 lakh have not been approved, he said.
"The problem lies in the name. What good is such politics? I am disgusted by such politics that destroys and ruins the lives of the poor," Chouhan said.
Chouhan also engaged in a witty exchange with Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, while citing various schemes run by the Modi government for the benefit of the poor.
When Ramesh asked whether the schemes he had mentioned in his reply were from the UPA era, Chouhan quipped, "Why are you getting angry, Ramesh Ji?"
"I have great respect for Jairam Ramesh. I have never seen a sincere and serious MP who sits here for the entire duration of a parliamentary session. I truly respect him, but anger is not suitable for him," he said, amid laughter and clapping from members of the ruling party.
Chouhan said that funds did not reach the poor when the Congress government was in power.
"At that time, a former Prime Minister was very disappointed. He had said, What can we do? We send Rs 1, but only 15 paise reaches the poor. He was helpless. But, we have a strong Prime Minister who sends one rupee, and the entire amount goes into the account of a poor person. This is the change we have brought," Chouhan said.
The Rural Development Minister targeted the Congress for being insensitive towards the poor, citing the NDA's Ujjwala scheme, aimed at providing LPG connections to poor and deprived households who were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood and coal.
Chouhan also offered unsolicited advice to the Congress party: not to look for opportunities in adversity.
"When that incident happened, in which innocent citizens were killed in Jammu and Kashmir (referring to the Pahalgam terror attack), they felt no pain at the time... During the recent Middle East crisis, we have also seen it... They shouldn't try to find opportunity in adversity. This will not benefit the Congress party," he said.
Chouhan said that whenever Modi was insulted, the public avenged it.
"They once called him 'merchant of death' before the Gujarat elections... The situation has become such that Congress is permanently in a state of coma," he said.
Chouhan said he defended former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during one of his trips to the US. He also accused Congress leaders of insulting Modi during their trips abroad.
"Whenever you go abroad, you insult not just the Prime Minister (Modi) but the entire nation. With this mentality, Congress can never move forward," he said.
The Rural Development Minister said that under Modi's leadership, a glorious, prosperous, self-reliant, and developed India is being built, and no one can stop it.
"This Bharat will become a developed Bharat," he said, and urged the opposition parties to engage in constructive politics and take the country to the pinnacle of glory.
In his reply, Chouhan said that the Modi government had taken a transformative decision to build toilets in eligible rural and urban households. Today, 10 crore toilets have been built, he added.
Chouhan said that there was no electricity in nearly 18,000 villages during the Congress government's regime, plunging vast regions into darkness.
"But today, through the Saubhagya Yojana, Modi has achieved the feat of providing electricity to all households," he said.
Chouhan said that the government has modified the eligibility criteria to cover more beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, which aims to provide housing to all eligible beneficiaries in urban areas.
Earlier, only those with an income of up to Rs 10,000 were eligible; anyone earning above that threshold was excluded. "It has now been decided that even if income exceeds Rs 15,000, you will be given a house," he said.
Chouhan said that those with two-wheelers, a fisherman with a motorboat, and farmers with 2.5 acres of irrigated land will also be eligible for the PM housing scheme.