Union minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday said the unprecedented change in the life of the common man over the past nine years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was possible only because voters supported a decisive leader.
Addressing a national conclave to celebrate nine years of the BJP-led NDA government, he claimed India has emerged from being a ramshackle economy riddled with corruption to rank among the top five economies of the world under Modi's leadership.
He said the prime minister focused on last mile delivery of government initiatives, which were now reaching the person standing at the end of the queue and bringing about a qualitative change in their lives.
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Thakur said a combination of a sense of service, big ideas, good governance, infusion of technology, and building transparency and accountability into the delivery mechanism, were ensuring last-mile delivery of public services.
"How did the times change? It was because of your vote, which brought a strong government and decisive leadership," the minister said.
The national conclave, organised by Doordarshan, was inaugurated by Railway, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and saw participation from the captains of the industry, prominent sports persons, actors and environmentalists.
Echoing Thakur, Vaishnaw said the Modi government has brought transformative change to the poor person's life as 3.5 crore beneficiaries have received pucca homes, 12 crore households have received tap water connections, and 9.6 crore homes have received cooking gas connections.
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"This was possible because you elected a stable government. Your vote brought a change in the thought process. I urge you to vote for a decisive leadership so that India can emerge as a developed country by 2047," he said.
Vaishnaw said no government had spoken of fundamental human needs, like toilets during Independence Day speeches.
"But Prime Minister Modi spoke about the construction of toilets in every house in his speech from Red Fort. This has caused a revolution in the field of women safety and sanitation with the construction of 11.72 crore toilets today," he said.
Vaishnaw spoke about the government's strong commitment to national security and said that when in the past India has been at the receiving end of major terror activities, today the country has the means and willingness to respond to attacks in kind.
Thakur said that the government has been steadfast in shedding legacies of the colonial past and adopting modern and domestic symbols.
"This is evident in the creation of the Kartavya Path and the new parliament building set for inauguration tomorrow (Sunday)," the minister said.
