NaMo’s new era of GOVERNANCE

The narrators commend PM Narendra Modi’s Garib Kalyan Mela, launched during his tenure as Gujarat CM in 2009. This initiative was designed to provide immediate access to welfare schemes for the poor, underprivileged, and those living in remote areas of the state, benefiting thousands over the years. They also highlight that the governance model of Vajpayee has been a guiding force for Modi, who has not only embraced it but also advanced it as a blueprint for the nation’s governance ethos.

MODI’S GARIB KALYAN MELA - A GAME CHANGER

The Garib Kalyan Mela, launched by Narendra Modi in 2009 during his tenure as Gujarat’s Chief Minister, was envisaged to provide immediate access to individual and group oriented scheme benefits to the poor, underprivileged, and those living in remote areas of the state and the same has benefited thousands of such people over the years. Here are three beneficiaries of the scheme who narrate their experience with its success:

ALPESH TRIVEDI LAUDS MODI’S INITIATIVE

I am from Gujarat’s Mehsana. I had received a fi ghter machine (irrigation pump) from Modi ji during the Garib Kalyan Mela here. Earlier I had no source of income. But after I got the machine, I could fi nd opportunities and today I have economic freedom due to the venture. The machine costs Rs 50,000 but the same was provided to me completely free of cost at the fair. I am a successful vegetable trader now and my income is on the rise, all due to the Modi government’s unique initiative to help the poor. My life has improved, my family is happy, and my children are getting a good education due to this. We are all very thankful to Modi ji for his vision and initiative.

NILAMBEN SANAJYBHAI LOHAR SHARES JOYFUL MOMENTS

I belong to Mehsana. There was a Garib Kalyan Mela organised here in 2010 when then Chief Minister Narendra Modi ji was in power in the state. I had received a sewing machine from Modi ji at the fair, which was a great help to me and my family during those times. Today my household is running happily due to the sewing machine. It is this machine that keeps my kitchen fi res burning. This Garib Kalyan Mela has changed the lives of thousands and lakhs of families like us, spreading happiness through economic empowerment and betterment of life. The sewing machine has given us a big opportunity to generate employment and ensure a steady income.

PRATIK MAKWANA HAILS MODI’S VISION FOR EWS CLASS

I am from remote Lakhavad village of Gujarat’s Mehsana district. It was during the government led by Narendra Modi ji as the state’s CM when the Garib Kalyan Yojana was launched. We were greatly benefi tted by it economically. My mother had received a papad-making machine at the fair. Papadmaking is a very big industry in Gujarat and we too got involved in it in a big way due to the availability of the machine. Today our business is running smoothly and we are thankful for the economic and social uplift the Garib Kalyan Mela has brought into our lives and the lives of many economically deprived families like ours.

ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE - A guiding light for Narendra Modi

When Atal ji visited the Namdhari Shaheedi Smarak at Ludhiana, there was a visitor’s book at the memorial. This was in the year 1996. Vajpayee ji wrote his message in the visitor’s book and left. Later Modi ji asked the Dera chief to allow him to see the visitor’s book. From there he scanned the message written by Atal ji and noted down each and every word of the message in his own personal diary. When we asked him the reason for this, Modi ji said Atal ji is our guiding light and his messages always inspire us. Therefore, it is important to remember his messages and keep them safely in our reckoning. He is our idol, and his messages give us new energy. Such is Modi ji’s respect for Atal ji. It was on Atal ji’s mind that after his generation of leaders were no longer at the helm, Modi could be the one who could take charge and lead the party in the right direction. Modi ji too had immense affection and unflinching respect for Atal ji and his ideals. In common parlance it can be said that Atal ji and Modi ji shared a father-son like relationship, which remained intact till the end. When Narendra Modi formed the government at the Centre for the first time, in the very first year it was decided to confer the Bharat Ratna to AB Vajpayee. As Vajpayee ji was not keeping well, the award was given away at his residence in a simple ceremony where Modi ji was present with the President. Later, when Atal ji’s body was being carried in the ceremonial vehicle through streets of Delhi, Again, it was Modi ji’s initiative to get a memorial built in the name of Atal ji. He also suggested constructing a lamp on top of the cenotaph, which, when lit, could be seen from the sky and remain a symbol of inspiration for generations to come. Celebrating Atal ji’s birthday as Good Governance Day is, again, somewhere a reflection of Narendra Modi’s affinity towards him and his leadership. Atal ji’s governance model was somewhere in the mindscape of Modi ji, which he has emulated and taken forward as a template for the nation’s governance ethos. Atal ji used to say, no one can level one corruption charge against me. The same can equally be said about Modi ji and his work culture, which in some portions, he has certainly taken from the book of Vajpayee.

COMPILED AND EDITED BY SHASHIKANT SHARMA