Previous governments ignored develoment of Eastern India: Modi

New Delhi, July 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed disappointment over the efforts of the previous governments to electrify rural India and was particularly harsh on the work done by the UPA government.

The Prime Minister was interacting with the beneficiaries of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and Saubhagya Yojana through NaMo app.

Without naming Sonia Gandhi, PM Modi said that the then Congress president had promised to electrify all households by 2009, but failed to keep the promise.

PM Modi interacting on NaMo app

"In 2005, the then govt promised to electrify every village by 2009. The then President of the ruling party went a step ahead and said they will bring electricity to every home. Needless to say, none of that happened during their long tenure," Modi said.

"It has been 70 years since we attained Independence but 18,000 villages did not have electricity connections. This was quite unfortunate," he added.

PM Modi stresses on development of Eastern India

Asserting that Eastern India can play a key role in the overall development of the country, Modi said previous governments had ignored Eastern India.

"One of the priorities for us is the development of Eastern India. About 14,500 villages out of 18,000 villages not electrified were in Eastern India. We have changed that. Eastern India can play an even bigger role in India's development journey," he added.

"Pichali sarkaaron ne desh ke poorvi hisse ke vikas par dhyan nahi diya (Previous governments ignored development of Eastern India)," PM said.

PM interacting with beneficiaries of electrification drive

The video conference interaction through NaMo app included beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana - 'Saubhagya' scheme which was launched by the PM on September 25, 2017.

Several people from different parts of the country got to interact with the Prime Minister. Ramchandra Bisht, from Tihri in Uttarakhand, said that employment opportunities have increased in their village after electrification.

Images courtesy - Twitter/@BJP4India