I don't own a house, but my govt made lakhs of daughters of country home-owners: PM Modi

Bodeli: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he does not have a house in his name, but "lakhs of daughters" of the country became house-owners thanks to his government's initiative.

Crores of women belonging to tribal, Scheduled Caste and backward communities have now become 'lakhpati' as they own houses built under government schemes, he said.

PM Modi, who has been on a two-day visit to Gujarat starting Tuesday, was speaking at the launch of various development projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore in Bodeli town of tribal-dominated Chhotaudepur district in Gujarat.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion, he said, "Since I spent significant time with you, I know the issues faced by the poor and I have always tried to solve those issues. Today I am satisfied because my government has built four crore houses for people across the country. Unlike the past governments, a house for the poor is not just a number for us."

"We work towards providing dignity to the poor by building a house for him. We are building houses as per the needs of the tribals, that too without the presence of any middlemen. Lakhs of houses were built and registered in the names of women. Though I don't have a house in my name yet, my government made lakhs of daughters house-owners," he said.

"Crores of women from tribal, Scheduled Caste and backward communities have now become 'lakhpati didi' because these houses registered in their names are now worth nearly Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh," he said.

The PM said World Bank president Ajay Banga was so impressed with the Gujarat education department's command and control centre in Gandhinagar, called as Vidya Samiksha Kendra, that he urged him to start such centres across the country and said that the World Bank is ready to be a part of the project.

"The World Bank president recently visited the Vidya Samiksha Kendra. During our meeting, he urged me to start such centres in all districts of India and told me that the World Bank is ready to be a part of this amazing project," Modi said.

The projects launched by PM Modi at Bodeli include those worth Rs 4,500 crore related to the education sector under the 'Mission of Schools of Excellence' project of the Gujarat government aimed at improving the quality of education in the state. These projects include new classrooms, smart classrooms and computer labs coming up across the state.

The PM said the new National Education Policy (NEP), which was left in limbo for three decades, was finally introduced by his government.

In a veiled attack on the opposition, he said, "They indulged in the politics of reservation instead of working to improve the education scenario in the state." "You all know what the status of schools, colleges and availability of classrooms and teachers in Gujarat was two decades back. Many boys and girls were forced to drop out of schools due to the pathetic situation of the education sector. When I became the chief minister (in 2001), there was not a single science-stream school in the entire tribal belt of Gujarat," the PM said.

"What is the use of providing reservation in medical and engineering colleges when there were no science-stream schools. You keep doing politics (on reservation), but don't spoil the future of our children, the PM said, targeting past non-BJP governments in the state.

Those who were deprived of development for long are now marching ahead because of the efforts taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, he said.

The PM said the BJP government in Gujarat has built five medical colleges, two universities and 25,000 new classrooms in the entire tribal belt starting from Ambaji to Umargam.

On the occasion, the PM also launched several new schemes related to the education sector in the state, including the Swami Vivekananda Gyan Shakti Residential Schools, Raksha Shakti Schools, Mukhya Mantri Gyan Setu Merit Scholarship and Mukhya Mantri Gyan Sadhna Merit Scholarship.