Four biggest 'castes' for me are poor, youth, women, farmers: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized on Thursday that his decade-long efforts have instilled significant confidence in his government, criticizing previous administrations for behaving like mai baap of citizens, where development initiatives were guided by vote bank considerations.

In his address to beneficiaries of different schemes as part of the government's Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra for saturation coverage of welfare schemes, he said four biggest "castes" for him are the poor, youth, women, farmers, and their rise will make India developed. The yatra, under which government raths (chariots) are travelling to all corners, has generated huge enthusiasm among people with some describing the vehicles as Modi ki guarantee wali gaadi (vehicles carrying Modi's guarantees), the prime minister said, asserting that the masses know that he will fulfil all his promises.

A sentiment is resonating among people nationwide, expressing that Modi's commitment starts where their expectations from others conclude, he noted. Following his interaction with beneficiaries, Modi stated that India is unwavering and determined to progress, fueled by the people's resolve to develop the country. He highlighted the enthusiasm for this journey in various parts of the nation, attributing it to the trust and confidence people have developed in the government's efforts, particularly in the last 10 years of his leadership.

People have also seen that period when past governments used to consider themselves mai-baap of the people. Therefore, even after decades of independence, a big portion of the population was deprived of basic facilities, Modi said. Mai-baap is a Hindi term which loosely translates here as a government having a feudal mindset.

More than half the population had lost faith in government as they had to depend on middlemen and running around offices to seek any benefit while his dispensation is reaching out to the masses to enrol them for various welfare measures, he said. Earlier governments were driven by political calculations and vote bank considerations, he said. Therefore, the people never used to trust the announcements of such mai-baap governments. We have changed this and the government in place now considers people as form of God and we work with seva bhav not satta bhav', Modi said.