Post Holy Dip, PM Modi Washes Feet of Sanitation Workers at Kumbh

Speaking at ‘Swachh Kumbh, Swachh Aabhaar’ event in Prayagraj, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, 24 February, said that the country is moving towards declaring itself open-defecation free before 2 October, 2019. Modi paid respects to sanitation workers and washed and wiped their feet.

He also offered prayers and took a holy dip at Sangam – the confluence of Yamuna, Ganga and the mythical Saraswati rivers – in Prayagraj.

Earlier in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN), the scheme announced in the interim Budget 2019-20.

“Under the scheme, nearly 75 thousand crore rupees are directly accessible to farmers' accounts every year,” Modi said.

Modi announced that the first instalment of Rs 2,000 has been deposited in accounts of one crore one lakh farmers (check). He also added that the farmers who haven’t received the first instalment will receive the amount in the coming weeks.

He also said that there is no role of middlemen in the scheme to ensure that the farmers get right.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will launch the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN), the scheme announced in the interim budget 2019-20, during his visit to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.

He will launch the scheme from the Fertilizer Corporation of India ground by pressing a button to electronically transfer the first instalment of Rs 2,000 to selected farmers, a government statement said on Saturday.

Under the scheme, Rs 6,000 will be given per year to small and marginal farmer families having combined land holding/ownership of up to two hectares.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also set to visit the ongoing Kumbh at Prayagraj on Sunday, an official statement said on Saturday. The Prime Minister will take a bath at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj and also interact with sanitation employees, reports India Today.

Addressing the public in Gorakhpur, Modi said that loan waivers would have been easy and convenient for the government but it would have benefitted only a few farmers.

“For us also loan waivers would have been easy and convenient, we also could have distributed 'rewri' for political and election benefits, but we can't commit such a crime. Loan waiver benefits only a select few,” Modi added.

The BJP on Sunday said the timing of government launching any welfare scheme should not be questioned as no time frame can be attached in advance to such measures.

BJP Kisan Morcha president and Bhadohi MP Virendra Singh Mast said, "It is wrong to say that the government is reminded of farmers during the election season only. There is no time frame decided in advance for taking any welfare step. The opposition parties have nothing to say."

In an interview, Mast told PTI that a number of farmers welfare schemes were launched by the government in the past nearly five years. Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh had termed the scheme, announced in the interim budget, as a mere "eyewash" and said it would not reach the genuine beneficiaries.

President of Rashtriya Kisan Manch Shekhar Dixit had also questioned the intention and the reach of the scheme.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday launched the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme transferring the first instalment of Rs 2,000 each to over one crore farmers.

Launching the scheme from Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, the prime minister said the first instalment of money under the scheme has been deposited in accounts of 1.01 crore farmers and those who didn't get it on Sunday will get it in due course.

"This is your money and no one will be able to take it from you," he told the farmers.

The prime minister said the scheme has been made foolproof so that no one can take away the right of the farmers.

There is no role of middleman in this scheme, he said.

In the interim Budget 2019-20, the central government had announced the PM-KISAN scheme under which Rs 6,000 per year will be given in three instalments to 12 crore small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land up to two hectares

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the Kumbh in Prayagraj. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath receives him.

PM Modi offered prayers and took a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of Yamuna, Ganga and Saraswati, in Prayagraj.

Prime Minister Modi paid respects to sanitation workers in Prayagraj and washed and wiped their feet.

Modi said, “These safai karamcharis (sanitation workers) were my brothers and sisters who were waking up early, sleeping late, all to ensure the cleanliness of the area. They did not want any praise but they were doing their jobs without any fuss”.