Ranchi, Sep 23 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Congress had done politics for decades in the name of poverty eradication.

"Since Independence the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' has been given. Only politics has been done in the name of ending poverty. If politics had not been done, India would have been different now," Modi said, without naming the Congress, at the launch of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) here.

All the schemes to help and empower the poor have been launched by the BJP-led government at the Centre. Statistics reveal that five crore people have come out of poverty, he said.

The medal winners of Asian games belong to villages and poor families. They won medals because they were given opportunities, he added.

"Only vote bank politics has been done in the past in the name of caste and creed," Modi said, adding that the Ayushman Bharat scheme is for all Indians, without any discrimination.