Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the recent assembly elections had shown people’s faith in Government schemes and proved the validity of “Modi’s Guarantee,” while rejecting those opposing his government and making false claims.

Interacting with beneficiaries of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY) via video conferencing, he said that elections have to be won not on social media, but by reaching out to people. “Before winning elections, it is necessary to win hearts of the people,” he said.

The Opposition has a proclivity to underestimate public conscience, the Prime Minister said. If opposition parties had kept the spirit of service paramount instead of political interest, a large section of the country’s population would not have remained in poverty, and “Modi’s Guarantees” would have been fulfilled 50 years ago, he said.

Yatra cars popularly called ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ vehicles are going round the country with staff to attain hundred per cent saturation of flagship schemes of the government by enrolling all eligible beneficiaries.

The Prime Minister said the VBSY has become a great medium to reach the people who have not been able to connect with the government schemes till now. He said the VBSY vehicles have reached more than 40,000 village panchayats and many cities in less than a month, where more than 1.25 crore people have connected with the Modi ki Guarantee vehicle.

The Government’s endeavour was to ensure that every person in every village must contact the ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ vehicle when it arrives, so that the resolution of saturation of government schemes can be fulfilled, Mr Modi said.

The impact of the government’s efforts can be seen in every village, he said. Nearly one lakh new beneficiaries have applied for free gas connections under the Ujjwala scheme, more than 35 lakh Ayushman cards have been given on the spot, health check-up of lakhs of people is being carried out, and a large number of people are now heading to Ayushman Arogya temples for various tests.

He said the Yatra is being welcomed with traditional tribal dances at various places in Odisha and mentioned the program at Rambrai in West Khasi Hill where local people organized a cultural program and dance.

Mr Modi said there were cultural programs held in Andaman and Nicobar  Islands, Lakshadweep, and Kargil where more than 4,000 people were present to welcome VBSY. He suggested preparing manuals where progress of the schemes, before and after the arrival of the VBSY, can be gauged.

He said benefits under the schemes included permanent house, tap water connection, toilet, free medical treatment, free ration, gas connection, electricity connection, bank accounts, and benefits under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, PM Fasal Bima Yojna, PM Swanidhi Yojana, and PM Swamitva property cards, among others.

Mr Modi said that crores of families in villages across the country have received the benefit of various schemes of the government without having to make repeated visits to any government office. The beneficiaries were first identified by the government, then steps taken to extend the benefits. “That is why people say, Modi Ki Guarantee means the guarantee of fulfilment,” he added.

“We have established a direct relationship, an emotional bond between the central government and the people of the country,” Mr Modi remarked. “Our government is not a Mai-Baap Sarkar, rather it serves father and mothers,” he said.

“For Modi, the VIPs are those who are poor, deprived and for whom the doors of government offices were closed,” he said. He emphasized that every poor person in the country is considered a VIP by him. “Every mother, sister and daughter of the country is a VIP to me. Every farmer of the country is VIP to me. Every youth of the country is VIP to me,” PM Modi said.

Touching women-led development, the Prime Minister said 70 per cent beneficiaries of the four crore houses built under the PM Awaas Yojana are women. Seven out of 10 Mudra beneficiaries are women and about 10 crore women are part of self-help groups. Two crore women are being turned into Lakhpati Didis through Skill Development and 15,000 self-help groups are getting drones under Namo Drone Didi Abhiyan, he said.

In his address Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said the youth are getting connected to the Yatra digitally and taking pledge to make India a developed country. He said that the VBSY campaign has become a mass movement now.