4 crore fake ration cards axed: PM Modi

New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on the previous Congress-led government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government has weeded out over four crore fake ration cards since 2014 to prevent theft of food grains meant for the poor.

"The government has removed over four crore fake ration cards which were in use during 'their' government. They made four crore fake ration cards to loot the ration of the poor. The money used to move to their black accounts," he said.

The Prime Minister was virtually addressing a gathering as he inaugurated Grih Pravesham of about 5.21 lakh beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin in Madhya Pradesh.

"Some parties raised slogans to eradicate poverty (garibi hatao). But they couldn't do the kind of work required to empower the poor," he said. "When the efforts of a honest government and aspirations of common man combine, it translates into limitless progress."

The Prime Minister said the campaign to give our pucca house to the poor was not just a scheme but a commitment to give courage to the poor to come out of poverty.

He said that when the poor people have a roof over their head, they can focus on educating their children. Modi said that despite the pandemic, the government has ensured that the construction of pucca houses continued without any hindrance.

"These houses are special because they include amenities like gas connection under Ujjwala Yojna, LED bulb connection under Ujala Yojna, toilets under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and water supply under the Har Ghar Jal Yojna," he said.

Highlighting the steps taken by the government to empower women, the Prime Minister said that women have been provided ownership rights to two crore houses built under the scheme. "This ownership has also strengthened the participation of women in other economic decisions of the household."

The Prime Minister listed out a number of government measures for the rural households.

"To solve the problems faced by women, we have also taken the initiative to provide water to every household. In the last 2.5 years, more than 6 crore families have got drinking water connections across the country. We are very close to supplying water through a pipeline to 50 lakh rural families in Madhya Pradesh in comparison to 13 lakh families before," he said.

The Prime Minister also mentioned a recent decision by the Union Cabinet extending the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojna for another six months "to ensure that poverty stricken families can continue to afford food and ration."

He said that during the Pandemic, the government has spent Rs 2.6 lakh crore to provide free ration to the needy and in the next 6 months Rs 80,000 crore would be additionally spent on them.

"We should take a pledge to build 75 Amrit Sarovar with the help of MNREGA scheme under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to benefit Mother Earth. These lakes will be a huge gift by humanity to our coming generations to face water scarcity." (UNI)