Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government has acknowledged the honesty and hard work of street vendors by offering them loans that were inaccessible to the poor in the past.
Addressing beneficiaries of the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi Scheme in Uttar Pradesh via video conferencing, he said, "Those doing politics in the name of the poor had created an atmosphere that if a loan is given to the poor it would not be returned".
Modi said the poor have been linked to the banking system and loans have been given to street vendors who are repaying them in time.
"Those who had themselves been involved in scams had always put the blame of all dishonest things on the poor, but I have always been saying that the poor of the country have never compromised with honesty and self respect," he said.
Through the PM Svanidhi Yojna the poor have once again presented the example of their honesty before the country. The street vendors of UP are repaying loans through their hard work besides earning their livelihood. This is the will power and hard work and honesty, he said.
The Prime Minister interacted with three beneficiaries of the scheme hailing from Agra, Varanasi and Lucknow and enquired about how it has helped them. He said they have all presented an example which should be replicated by all.
Modi, who explained the scheme in detail, also took the opportunity to attack those who had questioned the government's move of linking the poor with the banking system.
The doors of the banks which have today been opened for you have not happened in a day. It is the result of the 'sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas' policy," he said.
The PM said the scheme was a reply to those who were sceptical about linking the poor with the banking system.
He claimed that when the Jan-Dhan accounts were opened, many people had questioned and laughed but now those accounts had come to the help of the poor.
"The street vendors are helping in taking the poor forward, they are getting connected to banks, the mainstream of the economy. In such a global pandemic which forced big nations to bow before it, the common man of the country bravely did it," he said.
The PM SVANidhi scheme was launched on June 1 this year to help poor street vendors, impacted by economic distress due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in resuming livelihood activities. Around 25 lakh applications have been received of which 12 lakh have been sanctioned.
Modi said almost 6.50 lakh applications had been received from UP of which 3.75 lakh were sanctioned. He lauded the banks and their employees in making an important contribution in achieving this target.
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