Farmers vote bank for Congress, food providers for us, says PM Modi in Jharkhand

Palamu, Jan 5: With an eye on five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar and Jharkhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid foundation stone of various development projects in Palamu.

Attacking the Congress on farm loan waiver, PM Modi said that "Farmers are a vote bank for Congress, and for us, farmers are our food providers. This is the difference between Congress and BJP."

PM Narendra Modi said that unlike previous governments, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has not been named after any particular prime minister.

"We didn't make Narendra Modi Awas Yojana, we didn't make NaMo Awas Yojana, we didn't make Raghubar Das Awas Yojana, we made Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana so that the next PM can take the work forward."

"There wouldn't have been a need for farmers to take loans had the previous Congress governments completed the projects that were meant to benefit farmers. First they forced farmers to take loans, now they're misleading them in the name of loan waivers," he said.

The Rs 2,391.36 crore Mandal dam that will provide irrigation to 19,604 hectare in Palamau and Garhwa districts. The Mandal dam, work on which began in 1972, but has been stalled since 1993, will be built on North Koel river under Barwadih block in Latehar district.

It said foundation stone will also be laid for the Sone canal pipeline irrigation project worth Rs 1,169.28 crore, benefiting Garhwa district.

Four other projects for which the foundation stones will be laid are: renovation and lining work of Bater Vier Irrigation Project, renovation of Bain Banki Reservoir Project, renovation and lining work of Anjanva Reservoir Project and renovation and lining work for Brahmani irrigation project (in Chakradharpur block of West Singhbhum district).