Opposition spreading caste venom: PM

NEW DELHI: Hitting out at the Opposition for trying to weaken society by spreading venom in the name of caste, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged people to thwart these conspiracies and preserve the shared culture of the village. Noting the significance of harmony and love in village identity, Mr Modi urged, “We have to thwart these conspiracies and preserve and strengthen the shared culture of the villages.” The Prime Minister said that since 2014, he has been constantly in the service of rural India. “The government had implemented a programme in each and every village to ensure basic amenities,” Mr Modi said and highlighted that every house was provided with a toilet as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, crores of people in rural India were given pucca houses as part of PM Awaas Yojana and lakhs of houses in villages were ensured safe and clean drinking water through Jal Jeevan Mission. The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of creating economic policies that consider every section of rural society to strengthen the rural economy and said that over the past 10 years, the government has formulated special policies and made decisions for every section of the village. Citing a recent large-scale survey, the Prime Minister stated that compared to 2011, consumption in rural India has nearly tripled, indicating that people are spending more on their preferred items.