Govt aims to provide basic facilities to all through saturation of existing schemes: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The Finance Minister said that the aim of the Modi government is to empower everyone through saturation of the existing welfare schemes as every Indian citizen deserves access to basic facilities.

Indian citizens deserve to have access to basic facilities, without being beholden to anyone. She said that the approach was one of empowerment through saturation of existing schemes.

All eligible beneficiaries get the facilities as a result of theuration of the scheme. There have been many attempts to improve the lives of the poor in the last 75 years if you reach all of them who are eligible for something.

The approach to development that Prime Minister Narendra Modi employs, even as he brings in schemes that benefit the needy people, is by the principle of saturation. During the 1971 election campaign, Garibi Hatao was the slogan of the congress.

Political parties are sparring over free stuff. A referendum on spending taxpayers' money on healthcare and education was called by the opposition. Sitharaman accused Kejriwal of trying to create fear in the minds of the poor by putting education and health in the category of free stuff.

Since independence, the Indian government has never denied them. She said that Kejriwal wanted to bring in a sense of worry and fear in the minds of the poor. Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin joined the debate and said that expenditure incurred by the government on education and healthcare cannot be seen as freebies.

Some people have come to the conclusion that there should be no freebies. We don't pay attention to that. It will become political if I talk more. I don't want to discuss this more. The Prime Minister recently hit out at the competitive populism of extending'rewaris' which are not just a waste of taxpayers' money but also an economic disaster that could hamper India's drive to become atmanirbhar.

His comments were seen directed at parties like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which have in the run-up to the assembly elections in states like Punjab and more recently Gujarat promised free electricity and water, among others. Sitharaman also pointed out that the government is ensuring that those who've cheated the banks and have gone away are being pursued relentlessly, that their properties are auctioned and money is given back to the banks in a continuous manner.