Gujarat: BJP Prez labels Congress ‘zero’ on development, tribal welfare and education
Dahod, March 19 (IANS) Gujarat BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma on Thursday accused the Congress of delivering “zero” on development, tribal welfare and education, as he addressed a booth workers’ conference in Dahod and urged party cadres to intensify outreach ahead of local body elections.
Speaking at the gathering, Vishwakarma said, “Congress means zero in the name of development, zero in the name of giving to tribals, zero in the name of education,” adding that the party stood for “false promises and lies”.
He further alleged that Congress had never wanted people from villages and tribal communities to become educated and progress.
"Congress appears only during elections. People of the country have rejected Congress three times, and the people of Gujarat have been rejecting it for 30 years," he said.
The event, organised for workers of the Dahod Assembly constituency, was attended by several party leaders and functionaries.
Vishwakarma said the BJP’s organisational strength rested on workers committed to service rather than power, and called on them to take the party’s “nationalist ideology” and government initiatives to every household while preparing for the upcoming local self-government elections.
Referring to the tribal population, he said, “The tribal community is the true guardian of water, land and forests and the protector of nature,” and highlighted their historical contributions, including sacrifices in defence of the country and participation in the independence movement.
He also mentioned the legacy of tribal leaders and said their role would not be forgotten.
Vishwakarma credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with shifting national politics away from vote-bank, caste-based and regional considerations towards development.
"Within 17 days of assuming office, the Prime Minister had taken key decisions swiftly, including approval related to the Narmada dam, and added that development visible across Gujarat’s cities and villages reflected such leadership," he said.
He said both the Prime Minister and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel remained focused on the development of tribal regions stretching from Ambaji to Umargam.
Highlighting changes in Dahod, he said that where residents once migrated for labour, efforts were now being made to generate local employment.
Among development initiatives, Vishwakarma cited plans to develop Dahod municipality into a smart city with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore, and to establish a railway engine manufacturing unit with a capacity of 9,000 metric tonnes, which he said would create employment in the district and surrounding areas.
He added that engines produced in Dahod were operating across the country.
He also referred to expansion in education infrastructure, including medical colleges, Eklavya Model Schools and tribal universities in Gujarat, and said the government was working to enable students from tribal communities to become doctors and engineers.
"The state had increased the income eligibility limit for post-matric scholarships for Scheduled community students from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs six lakh," he said.
Contrasting governance approaches, Vishwakarma said that while earlier only a portion of funds reached beneficiaries, under the current system, financial assistance was transferred directly into bank accounts.
"Several schemes aimed at tribal welfare were being implemented with an emphasis on transparency and improving living standards," he said.
In his address, he reiterated his criticism of the Congress, citing past corruption scandals.
"Congress stands for false promises and lies, along with various scams, including the Commonwealth Games scam, 2G spectrum scam, coal block allocation scam and Adarsh housing scam. India is in safe hands under Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he claimed.
Vishwakarma also urged party workers to strengthen grassroots engagement and ensure that beneficiaries benefit from government schemes, while working towards electoral success in the forthcoming local polls.
Earlier in the day, he also held a meeting with district office-bearers at the BJP office in Dahod, where he interacted with workers and reviewed organisational preparedness.
--IANS
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