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Our Correspondent
Kohima, Sep. 25 (EMN): Expounding that a self-reliant Nagaland is important for a self-reliant India, minister of Higher and Technical Education and Tribal, Temjen Imna Along, who is also the president of Nagaland state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has advocated knowledge, which according to him is the “greatest weapon" to fight against poverty and to develop self-reliance and empowerment.
Along stated this while addressing the party workers at a programme to mark the formal launch of the state-wide awareness campaign on "Atma Nibhar Bharat" or "Self-Reliant India" at the state BJP head office in Kohima on September 25. He also launched programmes of Atma Nibhar Bharat through a cellphone and updated the state BJP WhatsApp group during the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister recalled how the country, like many other nations, had witnessed the downfall of its economy which went from "bad to worse" besides irreparable loss of lives in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
According to the minister, INR 20 lakh crore, which was announced by the prime minister as economic package to help the country revive its economy, came as a "shock not only to the nation but to the whole world”.
"A clear distinctive economic policy in the lines of which we have followed through 50-60 years of our independence had actually started to tumble down," he said, adding that “we are looking for $ 5 trillion economy by 2025 but suddenly we started to suffer”.
According to Along, the pandemic had swept through the nation at a time when it was envisioning to be the third largest economy in the world under the BJP leadership.
"If we as BJP cannot live our lives according to Atma Nibhar Bharat, we lose and cease to envision the goal for our people," he reminded the party workers.
According to him, the "self-reliant India" covers wide range of programmes to make India self-reliant again. He stated that it gives a projectable push for the new economic reliance and system to empower 1.3 billion population of the country.
"We have the vision to serve the country through the leadership of BJP which has decided to rely on the power of the country and its citizens," he stated.
"The self-reliant India envisions to empower the people of the nation to regenerate, to renovate and rebuild India into a global economic powerhouse to strengthen our country," he said, adding that “had it being the other government, it would be allowing 100% direct foreign investment into the nation."
Stressing on the importance of rebuilding local infrastructure, he said pushing financial strength into agri and allied sectors are part of the self-reliant India.
On the "farm policy" that was recently passed in Rajya Sabha, Along stated that the "minimal support price" is still continuing and that certain commodities like rice has been removed from the essential commodities so that "farmers can be empowered". He added that "today the empowerment of the farmer is very important because farmers are the backbone of our nation”.
He expressed surprise on learning that migrants would have access to public distribution system (PDS) from any fair price shops in India by March 2021. He informed that any public distribution beneficiary from Nagaland would be able to avail such benefits in Delhi.