Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Oct 2: Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday praised the Swayampurna Goa programme as a model for a developed India while criticising the Congress over its ‘Loktantra Bachao Yatra’.
Chouhan was in Goa to participate in programmes marking the sixth anniversary of Swayampurna Goa, which was launched on October 2, 2020, with the objective of taking government schemes and services to people at the grassroots. He congratulated Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the people of Goa, saying the initiative had taken governance to the doorstep of citizens.
“Swayampurna Goa is a model for a developed India (Viksit Bharat),” Chouhan said. He also praised Goa’s culture and hospitality, describing the state as reflecting the spirit of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.
Turning to the Congress’ campaign, Chouhan said the ‘Save Democracy’ yatra was instead aimed at protecting political families. He alleged that the Congress had a record of undermining democratic institutions and referred to the Emergency imposed in 1975. His remarks were in line with his earlier criticism of the Opposition’s planned marches over electoral roll revisions.
Chouhan also alleged that Congress governments had dismissed elected state governments more than 50 times and frequently changed chief ministers. He defended efforts to clean up electoral rolls, questioning the presence of names of deceased persons, duplicate entries and people who are not eligible to vote.
“The voter list is the soul of democracy,” Chouhan said, while questioning why incorrect or duplicate names should remain on electoral rolls.
He further claimed that Congress had lost national and state elections 99 times under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership and invoked Mahatma Gandhi’s post-Independence suggestion that the Congress should be transformed into a Lok Sevak Sangh.
“The time has come to dissolve Congress. Now the public is going to dissolve Congress,” Chouhan said.
The remarks came amid the Congress-led Opposition’s ‘Save Democracy’ campaign announced for October 2 to 8, with the parties raising concerns over electoral rolls and the functioning of the Election Commission.