RANCHI, Feb 1 (UNI) Mrime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today said his dream of a new future for the one billion people could become reality through progress in science and information technology and the ideals of kindness and equality.
Inaugurating the 'Vanavasi sammelan,' at Morahabadi ground, organised by a NGO, the Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Kendra, to celebrate its golden jubilee, Vajpayee said development had taken place at a faster pace during the past five years than ever before.
He said that before his government took the reins, the nation was an importer of foodgrains but now with the help of the farmers and agricultural scientists, it was now an exporter of foodgrains.
The Antodaya scheme had made wheat available at Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg for below the poverty line families, something unheard of in the past, the prime minister said.
Other essential commodities, including LPG and telephones, were available without standing in queues like never imagined before, he said, adding that the standard of living of people had improved.
The nation's rapid strides in the spheres of science and technology had made foreign countries overcome their distrust and extend a hand of friendship, Vajpayee said.
Youths, who had migrated to foreign countries in search of better employment, are also now returning home seeking better job opportunities.
Vajpayee said he wanted that rivers to be inter-linked and every village to have a road.
Drought would be a thing of the past when the scheme to inter-link rivers was implemented.
Some states, not realising the usefulness of the scheme, had voiced objections to the inter-linking of rivers but now had seen the light, he said.
The network of roads extending from Kashmir to Kanyakumari would also help farmers in far-flung areas get a better market for their produce in some other part of the country.
Vajpayee said as per his announcement in Parliament, there had been a growth in employment in the country.
True to the government's commitment to provide employment to one crore youths during the current year, process had been completed to absorb about 82 lakh people.
The prime minister said he had visited Ranchi earlier on several occasions and had promised last time, during the previous assembly elections, to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the state's Adivasis.
Vajpayee said that his party has kept its promise and added that the present government was taking a number of steps for the state's development.
He also laid the foundation for upgradation of Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical Institute on the line of All India Institute of Medical Sciences "to provide better madical facilities to the people of Jharkhand." He also visited a newly-constructed road at Patratu-Hudurkuchu and expressed satisfaction over its completion.
Vajpayee said when he visited some villages, the inhabitants were satisfied with improvements in road conditions, but wanted to know about availability of electricity.
He told them that "what had not been achieved during the past 50 years, could not be achieved in five years.
But the government has initiated several schemes to make energy available to the people." Addressing the function, RSS chief KC Sudarshan said the ongoing religious conversion was politically motivated and against the interests of the country.
Missionaries, with foreign funding and partisan considerations, through their conversion of tribals were violating the right of worship enshrined in the constitution, he said.
He said anybody could worship adopting any method, but they could suffer from identity crisis owing to tradition and culture, he said.
Sudarshan expressed concern over the conversion in the North-Eastern region and some other parts of the country which has "threatened the population structure and identity of the people." "The Hindu religion was born in jungles as sants use to live there.
Hinduism is such that it believes God is everywhere and people can worship him in any form." Speaking about the development of the nation, he said that the slogan should be "har hath ko kaam and har khet ko pani" (job for every hand and water for every field) for the development of the country.
Chief minister Arjun Munda, addressing the sammelan, praised Vajpayee's contribution towards creation of Jharkhand as a separate state.
Under Vajpayee's guidance, Munda said, his government had taken a number of schemes for the state's development and already provided employment to about 32,000 youths and process was on to provide employment to another 28,000 youths in 2004.
On the progress in the agriculture sector, the chief minister said the state, which used to buy vegetables from the neighbouring states, has produced about 52,000 tonnes of vegetable during last year.
Under the prime minister's employment scheme, about 14,000 villages and 'tolas' were connected by roads and progress had been made to connect all villages, sub-divisional and district headquarters and block offices by roads, he said and added that the government has also decided to electrify about 7,000 villages every year in Jharkhand.
On his arrival at the Birsa Munda airport by an Indian Air Force special plane, the prime minister was given a warm reception by Governor Ved Prakash Marwah, Arjun Munda, his cabinet colleagues, and senior civil, police and army officials.
From the airport, Vajpayee flew in an army copter to the sammelan venue.
Elaborate security arrangments were made as about 4000 policemen and paramilitary personnel were deployed in the capital.
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