Vidisha (MP), Jan 17 (PTI) Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said the country faced no shortage of funds, but needed political leaders who worked honestly for villages, the poor and farmers.
Addressing a function in Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, Gadkari said he had the mythological “Draupadi ki thali”, which can feed everyone and ensure no one goes hungry.
“There is no dearth of money in this country. There is no shortage of funds. There is a need for political leaders to work honestly for villages, the poor and farmers,” the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister asserted.
At the event, Gadkari, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of eight road projects worth Rs 4,400 crore in Vidisha, said officials.
“I have ‘Draupadi ki thali’. Let any number of people come. Not a single person will return hungry. We will feed everyone, that I can promise,” he said after Yadav and Chouhan sought approval for road projects.
‘Draupadi ki thali’ is associated with the Mahabharata and centres on the ‘Akshaya Patra’ that Krishna gave Draupadi to ensure that the saints who arrived while the Pandavas were in exile were well fed, even though there was no food in the household at the time.
The Union minister said the Centre would extend full support to strengthen Madhya Pradesh’s development. He said approval had been given for new road projects worth about Rs 1 lakh crore related to the state’s development.
Noting that more than 10,000 farmers had committed suicide in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region due to economic distress and other reasons in the past, he said, “You might not know that 90 per cent of my work is focused on farmers. I have dedicated my life to ensuring that farmers do not commit suicide. I have made it my mission.” The country’s farmer is not only an “annadata” (food providers), but should also become energy, aviation fuel and bitumen providers, he said, calling crop growers “urjadata”. He said farmers in Nagpur were producing ethanol, while India imported fossil fuel worth Rs 22 lakh crore.
He said that if farmers’ income increases, they would not leave their villages. Gadkari said there is no shortage of funds for development works in the country, but there is a shortage of committed people who work honestly for villages, the poor and farmers.
Underlining the government’s vision, Gadkari said the aim under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to make India a global leader, the third-largest economy, and eventually the strongest economy in the world. “Our country has the strength to achieve this,” he said.
Gadkari said Indian professionals had carved a niche globally.
“Our software engineers dominate across the world. When I met the prime minister of Japan, he asked me if our software engineers had mathematical genes in their minds. In the US and the UK, six out of ten doctors are Indians. Knowledge is power, strength and energy. This is our future,” Gadkari said.
The Union minister said work was already underway on national highway development projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore in MP under the Union Road Transport Ministry.
He said MP is among the leading states in agriculture, and its basmati rice and sharbati wheat are world famous. Praising Chouhan, who represents the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat, he said the minister has been continuously working for the welfare of farmers.
Gadkari said his hometown Nagpur earned Rs 300 crore merely by selling treated toilet water and added that if the country had the right leaders, even waste could be turned into wealth.
Under CM Yadav’s leadership, Madhya Pradesh would emerge as a progressive, prosperous and developed state. PTI LAL MAS BNM NR
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