Union textiles minister Smriti Zubin Irani on Tuesday highlighted achievements of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government and claimed that the “sun of development for new India would rise from the Northeast.”
Irani came to Shillong, the State capital of Meghalaya, to highlight the ‘good work’ done by the NDA Government in the last four years, told media persons that the NDA had undertaken lots of initiatives such as the formation of NITI Aayog forum, implementation of schemes like Mudra Yojana and Jandhan Yojana, which were not done earlier by the UPA Government.
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“The UPA right now is limiting itself to rhetoric. I cannot expect the Opposition to be kind, but to look at facts and numbers before themselves. Let the UPA and Congress leaders explain to us that within two years, every State could set up textile manufacturing units,” Union minister Irani said.
Talking about schemes under the textile ministry, she said that out of 42 schemes, 22 schemes each year (in five years) were surrendered by the then UPA Government.
She also said that the largest number of handloom weavers found in the Northeast and in 2009, the Congress knew that out of all weavers’ families, only one per cent received higher education.
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“It is under the NDA Government through NIOS and IGNOU, the Government now pays 75 per cent fees for the weavers’ family,” she said.
She also said that the NITI Aayog has taken a number of initiatives at the central level for each State including the States from the Northeast.
“From venture funds for Northeast entrepreneurship to building of roads between States are all measures for which the NDA has funded projects through the DoNER ministry. This is 48 years of apathy of one family versus 48 months of good governance under Narendra Modi,” Irani said.
On Saturday, the Opposition Congress in Meghalaya termed the NDA Government, which has completed four years in office as a “Government that came to Northeast only to inaugurate projects initiated by the UPA Government.”
However, Irani accused the Congress-led UPA of leaving financial challenges which the NDA Government has to address and find solutions.
On the issue of black money, stashed in banks outside India, which the NDA Government has not been able to bring back, Irani claimed that clamping down on black money by the NDA Government has been “visible.”
“The clamping down on black money is visible not only domestically but internationally. More and more countries are now sharing data on antecedents of people who are stashing black money overseas to ensure financial compliance are met not only nationally but also internationally,” Irani claimed.
On price rise including hike in prices of fuel, Irani refused to comment.
Downplaying Congress’ claim that it would bounce back to power in 2019, Irani said, “I do politics from the region where Congress president Rahul Gandhi does politics. In Amethi, he (Rahul) has lost every Assembly seat and every local election in the past four years.”