'Jann ki Baat' to mark Modi govt's 3rd anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off slew of events organised to mark NDA government's 3rd anniversary on May 26.

New Delhi, May 23: After his popular 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme to reach out the people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now take people's feedback on his government's programmes and policies through a programme called 'Jann ki Baat'.

Jann ki Baat will form part of the 20-day celebrations the BJP has planned to mark the Modi government's three years in office beginning May 26, the day he was sworn-in as prime minister in 2014.

BJP chief ministers and ministers in states will visit those ruled by their political rivals, with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath travelling to Bihar and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan to Karnataka and Odisha.

Over 450 BJP leaders, including Modi, members of his council of ministers, party chief Amit Shah, and other office bearers will hold 900 events in places outside their home states between May 26 and June 15, Union Minister Smriti Irani and party general secretary Arun Singh said on Monday.

Shah will visit Kerala, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh, while top union ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari will attend events in Mumbai and Jaipur, Delhi and Lucknow, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Chhattisgarh, and Chennai and Ranchi respectively. Most party chief ministers will go to non-BJP ruled states.

Making of Developed India MODI, a festival to celebrate the Modi government's three years in office, will be one of the seven major events and people, especially youth, will be informed about various government schemes, and urged to download related apps on their mobiles, Irani told a press conference.

Through 'Jann ki Baat' people's voice, common people can record their feedback on the performance of the government, she said.

Singh said that 330 BJP MPs, 11 chief ministers, five deputy chief ministers, ministers in state governments, besides organisational functionaries will participate in these programmes. BJP's NDA allies will be involved in celebrations organised by the government, he said.

"They will each hold two events in states outside their home state. They also have to organise events in their home state and constituencies for MPs," he said. They will hold rallies, visit colonies populated by the poor and meet the local intelligentsia, he said.

Irani cited central government programmes, including the one to provide LPG connections to poor households, 'Jan Dhan', and 'Mudra' Yojana, 70 per cent of whose beneficiaries are women, to claim that the government has touched the lives of the poor across the country.

PTI