Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 16 inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 944 development projects worth Rs5,755 crore across 15 districts of Rajasthan.
The projects were launched during an event in Chittorgarh, where Shah also unveiled a 21-foot-tall statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Shah said the statue of Vajpayee had been installed at a cost of more than Rs1.5 crore. He also highlighted Vajpayee’s contribution to national security, infrastructure development and governance. Shah said Vajpayee followed the principle of “nation first” throughout his political career and never compromised on his principles, whether in Government or in Opposition.
The Home Minister also spoke about the signi¿cance of ‘Vande Mataram’, saying that the national song was sung at the Red Fort during this year’s Independence Day celebrations for the ¿rst time in 80 years. He said the song had inspired the freedom struggle and accused the opposition of neglecting it for vote-bank politics.
Highlighting the Government’s initiatives for tribal communities, Shah said the Scheduled Tribe component of the budget had increased from Rs25,000 crore to Rs1.25 lakh crore. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also introduced the observance of Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’.
He further said the Government had established museums dedicated to tribal freedom ¿ghters and set up 772 Eklavya Vidyapeeths.
On drinking water supply in Rajasthan, Shah said that when the ‘Har Ghar Nal Se Jal’ scheme was launched in the state, only 11 lakh households had access to water connections. He claimed that 64 lakh households had since been provided connections under the initiative
