Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar had envisioned the construction of dams, the establishment of the Central Water Commission, and various water resources and Jal Shakti schemes in the country, but the Congress never gave credit to him for any of these.

“No one knows who was the first person to emphasise the importance of Jal Shakti after independence, as the Congress government hid the truth and gave credit for everything to just one of its own leaders,” the PM averred.

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“It was Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision that led to the construction of dams in the country and shaped water resources and river schemes after independence,” Mr Modi claimed.

He said this during his speech after laying the foundation stone for the Ken-Betwa River Linking project at Khajuraho in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, the 100th birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

PM Modi also released a commemorative stamp and a coin in the memory of former Prime Minister Vajpayee on his birth centenary on this occasion.

Mr Modi charged that the Congress believes being in the government is its right, but whenever Congress governments have been in power in the past, they have done nothing about providing good governance to the people.

The PM also virtually inaugurated the Omkareshwar Floating Solar Project in the Khandwa district of the state on the occasion.

PM Modi also performed the ‘bhoomi pujan’ for the construction of 1,153 Atal Gram Sewa Sadans, costing Rs 437 crore, on the occasion.

Union Water Resources Minister C R Patil and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav handed over two ‘kalash’ (urns) containing waters from the Betwa and Ken rivers, respectively, to PM Modi, who poured them over a model of the project to launch the ambitious project.

According to officials, nearly 44 lakh people in ten districts of Madhya Pradesh and 21 lakh in Uttar Pradesh will get drinking water under the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 44,605 crore.

Nearly 7.18 lakh agricultural families in 2,000 villages will benefit from the project, which will also generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar energy.