New Delhi [India], Feb 4 : Stressing that the pace of development work in Delhi should be at par with that being done by the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday presented a rough comparative analysis of the beneficiaries of various programmes started by his government in the past five years.
"The BJP-NDA government at the Centre is doing developmental work at an unprecedented pace in the country. Never before since the time of Independence has work been done at such pace," Modi said at an election rally in Dwarka.
PM Modi then went on cite the number of beneficiaries under schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and Jan Dhan Yojana, among others, and compared it to the population of entire countries to underline the reach and effectiveness of the central government schemes in the country.
"The number of beneficiaries who can avail facilities of free healthcare under the Ayushman Bharat scheme is more than the combined population of America, Mexico and Canada. Under the PM Jan Dhan Yojana, the number of underprivileged people whose accounts we have opened exceeds the total population of America," Modi said.
"The number of toilets constructed in the country under the Swacch Bharat mission is more than the total population of Egypt. Similarly, the number of houses constructed through the PM Aawas Yojana is more than Sri Lanka's population," he added.
The PM also compared the number of beneficiaries under the PM Mudra Yojana, stating the number exceeded the population of Brazil, and added that the number of people covered through various insurance schemes in the country was more than the entire Russian population.
He also said that the number of beneficiaries under the Ujjwala and Saubhagya Yojana, who have been provided free gas cylinders and electricity connections, could be compared to that of Germany and Australia, respectively.
Modi said that he had presented the comparison instead of providing figures to show the extent of the work done by the BJP-led Union government in the past five years, and added that this is the pace at which he wanted the development to take place in the national capital in the coming days.
"I did this comparison today because figures do not show the full picture. But these comparisons show that the work done is more than the total population of countries. This is how work should be done in Delhi too," Modi said.
The Prime Minister was addressing his second election rally in Delhi, just days ahead of the February 8 Assembly elections in Delhi.
Earlier in his speech, the Prime Minister had attacked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party, accusing them of putting roadblocks in the various schemes run by the Centre.
Election to the 70-member Assembly in Delhi will be held on February 8, while the results will be declared on February 11.
( With inputs from ANI )