Need to reach most deprived, including Pasmanda Muslims: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday underlined the need to reach out to the most deprived sections of the society with welfare measures and made particular mention of Pasmanda Muslims.

In a post-budget webinar, he also emphasised the importance of good governance for reaching the last mile, saying such an approach will have no scope for discrimination and corruption.

The prime minister said his government was starting a special mission for the most deprived among the tribals.

Pasmanda Muslims

“We have to quickly provide various facilities to our tribes people in over 200 districts and over 22,000 villages. Similarly, among our minorities, especially among Muslims, we have Pasmanda Muslims,” he said, referring to the economically backward sections of Muslims.

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“How we have to take benefits to them… as they even today after so many years of Independence remain far behind.”

The prime minister said along with money, political will was needed for development and asserted that the development of tribal communities had been a priority for his government.

Emphasising the importance of good governance and constant monitoring for the desired goals, he said: “The more emphasis we put on good governance, the more easily our goal of reaching the last mile will be accomplished.”

Caring for tribals

For the first time, he asserted, the country was tapping the huge potential of tribals at this scale.

A post-budget brainstorming was important from the point of view of implementation and time-bound delivery, he said. This also ensures a proper utilisation of the taxpayers’ money.

A “whole-of-the-nation” approach is needed to rapidly provide facilities as a special mission for the most deprived among the tribal community, he said.

In the context, the prime minister said the aspirational district programme had emerged as a successful model in terms of reaching the last mile.

Post-budget

Monday’s address was the fourth in a series of 12 post-budget webinars organised by the government to seek ideas and suggestions for the effective implementation of the initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023.

Modi gave the example of new approaches in the immunisation and vaccine coverage in Mission Indradhanush and the Covid pandemic to illustrate the power of good governance.

He said as opposed to the earlier practices when the poor ran after the government for basic facilities, now the government was reaching the doorsteps of the poor.

“The day we decide that every basic facility will be provided to every citizen in every area, then we will see what a big change will come in the work culture at the local level. This is the spirit behind the policy of saturation. When our aim is to reach everyone, then there will be no scope for discrimination, nepotism and corruption,” he said.

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Potable water

Thousands of crores of rupees have been allocated to the Jal Jeevan Mission for making drinking water available in rural areas, he said.

The number in rural areas getting piped drinking water has crossed 11 crore, he said.

The prime minister told stakeholders to discuss ways to link housing with technology to find ways of making strong but affordable houses and find easy ways of benefiting from solar power and group-housing models acceptable in both urban and rural areas.

A target has also been set in this budget to completely get rid of sickle cell disease.

(With agency inputs)