Modi govt's schemes benefitted 22 crore poor families: Amit Shah

New Delhi, May 25: BJP president Amit Shah said the Modi government's welfare schemes in its four years have benefitted 22 crore poor families and set an example of how a pro-people dispensation is run.

In his brief address to the media on the fourth anniversary of the BJP-led NDA government, Shah claimed that the current dispensation has taken the country's self-pride to the highest level. The party on the occasion also unveiled a new slogan 'Saaf Niyat, Sahi Vikas' (clean intentions, right development) as it launches a nation-wide drive to highlight the government's works.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had led the BJP to its maiden majority in the Lok Sabha in 2014 general election, and his government and the party have stepped up their outreach in the run up to the next polls scheduled for 2019.

Shah said the government had come to power at a time when people had started thinking if the multi-party democracy had "failed", but it infused a new sense of hope. The dispensation has taken concrete and tangible steps in every sector, he said, adding that it has shown that a government can be pro-farmers and also be of help to industry, and can develop rural and urban regions together.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a presentation with '48 months of transforming India' being its catchline. In the four years of the government, sanitation coverage in the country rose from 38 per cent in 2014 to 83 per cent in 2018 with over 7.25 crore toilets being built. As many as 3.6 lakh villages were declared open defecation free, she said.

Over 31.52 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts were opened and 5.22 crore families benefited from life insurance cover provided at an annual premium of Rs 330, she said. India's GDP in current prices went up by 31 per cent between 2013-17 while the corresponding global rise was four per cent, Sitharaman said.

She also spoke about the government's multi-faceted focus on doubling farmers' income and also for women's safety, including enactment of a law providing death penalty for rape of a girl below 12 years of age. Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Swaraj were among those present on the occasion.

PTI