PM’s address at Gujarat Panchayat Mahasammelan

The popular Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai, Minister of Panchayat Department Shri Brijesh ji, my colleagues in Parliament Shri CR Patil ji, Hasmukhbhai, Narharibhai and Kiritbhai, President of Panchayat Parishad Sister Nayana ji and a large number of representatives of Panchayati Raj system who are strengthening the roots of democracy and my brothers and sisters, First of all, greetings to all of you! I am thankful to the Government of Gujarat that I have got the privilege of meeting every unit of democracy, from Panchayat to Parliament. This is Bapu’s land, this is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s land, and Bapu has always talked about rural development, self-reliant villages and strong and capable villages. When we are into the ‘Amrit Kaal’ of independence, celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, we should be committed to the dreams of revered Bapu. We should realize the dreams of those who sacrificed themselves during the freedom struggle. Rural development was the main dream of revered Bapu and he also saw the power of democracy in village power. Therefore, today it becomes the natural duty of those who have faith in democracy to dedicate themselves and strengthen all the rural organizations. The Panchayati Raj system is an important system in itself to realize the dream of Gram Swaraj. All the ‘Panchs’ ‘Sarpanchs’ and the public representatives are constantly engaged in giving direction and speeding up necessary changes. I have complete faith that the Panchayati Raj system of Gujarat and the rural organizations of Gujarat would become a landmark and inspiration for the country in realizing the dreams of revered Bapu. How are you? First of all, I want to congratulate the brothers and sisters of the villages. When Corona struck across the world and alarmed the entire humanity for two years, it started weakening by the time it reached villages of India. It was largely due to the awareness and prudent rules and regulations by villages from the beginning. The strict adherence of social distancing by restricting the entry of outsiders in villages and keeping them in schools for some days before allowing them in villages only after their tests were done was very crucial. The villages also made arrangements for food and other basic needs for those who were kept outside the villages in seclusion. The magnificent arrangements developed in the villages of Gujarat and the country during the Corona period helped a lot in controlling and preventing this pandemic from spreading further. Therefore, I congratulate all the village leaders and respectfully bow to the farmers who did not hesitate and continued with the farming to fill the granaries of India. Brothers and sisters, Today, I am privileged to meet all the friends of Panchayats from across the state and most of them are sisters. It is the good fortune of Gujarat and not many people of the country are aware that women are representing more than men in the Panchayat system in Gujarat. We have welcomed the harmonious idea of Gram Panchayat in all the villages. As a child, I had the privilege of reading the discourses of Acharya Vinoba ji. At that time, I also used to listen to Dr. Dwarkadas Joshi who was engaged in Sarvodaya activities in my village. He would often say that there would be hardly any problem if two political parties come face to face during Lok Sabha or state assembly elections. But when polls are held in villages, there is so much acrimony between two parties which is akin to a daughter returning home from her in-laws’ house. He himself was in the election fray. Such a situation develops in the villages that the opponents do not talk to each other for years after elections and seeds of vengeance are planted. In this context, Vinoba ji used to say that democracy in villages should be strengthened in such a way that everybody should decide the representatives of the villages with consensus. We started that experiment and it has flourished today. There are many villages in Gujarat where work is being done with consensus and the unity of the villages is getting stronger. I congratulate all of you who have supported this idea of harmony. I want to say one more thing today. It was my first term after becoming chief minister, maybe 2003-04, I don’t remember exactly. The village sisters who were elected to Panchayat from central Gujarat asked for my time. I was wondering why they wanted to meet me whereas Panchayat elections were held across Gujarat and there was no such demand. When the legislators were coming to meet me on Tuesday, I also asked those women to accompany them. The delegation included women only and I asked them whether there was no male member. They told me that was the reason why they sought my time. Since the Sarpanch of that village was a woman, it was decided that all other members would be women and there would not be any male members. It was very inspiring for me that the entire village decided that male members should sit out and make their sisters members of Panchayat. They had decided that the entire Panchayat of the village should consist of only women. I met those sisters, including the one who had become Sarpanch. She had hardly studied up to fifth standard and I don’t think that others had studied at all. I asked her what she planned to do now that she had won the election and become Sarpanch of the village. There were Panchayat members from across the country. What did that Sarpanch, who had barely studied till the fifth standard, say when the Chief Minister asked her about her plans? She told me that since the village had entrusted her with the responsibility she wants that there should be no poor people in her village. I thought that she would demand something like construction of a road or an office for a Panchayat. There can’t be more appealing than this that a sister of a village, a Sarpanch, telling me that hers is a small village but she does not want anybody to remain poor. ‘We want such a system in place in the village so that everybody can make a living’. If every representative of every village has this resolution that they will not let anybody remain poor in their village then poverty will vanish soon. This is the power. Once we know the collectiveness of the village and the power of that collectivity, anything is possible. In our villages, there is hardly any facility of a Dharamshala or a hotel in the event of a marriage? Whenever there is a marriage procession in any household of the village, all the villagers come forward and make all the arrangements for the stay of the guests. People keep two-three-five guests at their own homes. This is the power of our villages and this power can also be a great tool for the development of the villages. Most of the representatives must have been elected for the first or second time. Now that I am in your midst, I want to ask something from you. I will believe your words only if you raise your hands. Will everyone answer? Nobody has to back out. There are people sitting right behind. Will all of you agree? What can be a bigger opportunity than this that more than one and a half lakh elected public representatives are sitting together and discussing the bright future of Gujarat? What can be a greater power of democracy than this? I have small things on my mind. For example, there is a school in all the villages. Why can’t everybody in the village celebrate the foundation day of that school? All of us can do this. The school does not only belong to teachers. The school does not consist of four walls only. It is the life of our village. Every citizen of the village should glorify it. On the foundation day of the school, all the students should gather there and clean the school. People should discuss good things which have happened in the school. If it is the new generation of the school children, they will connect with it immediately and you will not have to force them to send to the school. They will go to the school on their own. We are celebrating 75 years of the country’s independence. Every village is going to celebrate Amrit Mahotsav by August 2023. We can organize ‘Prabhat Pheri’ (mini processions) across the village at least 75 times till August 2023. The people of the entire village should take part in it and hail Bharat Mata with tricolor in their hands. Everybody, including the old and young children, should be part of it. There can be discussions on independence recalling the sacrifices of Gandhiji, Sardar Saheb, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Veer Savarkar, etc. We can discuss the Amrit Mahotsav of independence in the villages by recalling the sacrifices of several important people. We still have about one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half years to go. We can organize at least 75 programs which should be useful for the villages till 15th August 2023. Why is there no response? It is a matter of freedom, how can we fall behind? There is another small issue and the villages can come forward in this regard. The villages can decide to plant 75 trees on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of independence. The elders can come and sit there together. The children can go there and play. Can our villages take the responsibility of planting 75 trees? If you plant trees, will the villages benefit or not? Sometimes we dwell on bigger issues, but do not pay attention to minor issues. For example, whenever any guest comes to our house, we organize everything. Similarly, the elected members of the Panchayats should keep in mind that they have got five years and they should transform their village in such a way that people should remember it forever. People visiting the village after several years should proudly claim that this work was done when their grandmother, mother or uncle was the Sarpanch. Shouldn’t we be proud of it? The five years that we have during our tenure, we can do something memorable in our villages. The small garden of these 75 trees should not be scattered, but should be well arranged in rows. When someone from any part of India visits the villages of Gujarat and sees this, it should strike him that it must have been done during the Amrit Mahotsav. These villagers seem very sensible. You will see a huge difference. Our Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister are working very hard for natural farming. We should prepare at least 75 farmers in a village who should start natural farming and not use any chemicals. We are poisoning our Mother Earth by putting chemicals into it. It is our combined responsibility to protect our Mother Earth. As we put fertilizers and urea, our Mother Earth suffers. She is our mother. We are brought up by Mother Earth. Is it not our responsibility as her child to relieve our mother from this pain? If it is our responsibility then we should prepare 75 farmers who should start natural farming. Natural farming is not something which is not known to people of Gujarat. Our Governor has visited villages and discussed its advantages with the people. It not only saves money, but Mother Earth is protected and our farms are also protected. We know we can do a good job. When I was the Chief Minister and sometimes I would go to attend the meetings of the Government of India. In those meetings, I would often tell Chief Ministers of other states that we spend a lot of our energy on water in Gujarat. There is a water shortage for seven years out of 10 years. We have to spend a lot of money on water as we face droughts. Now, the situation has started improving slowly by the grace of Mother Narmada. But it is equally important for us to save water. At that time, we had launched a major initiative called ‘Bori Bandhs’ for water conservation. Empty sacks of cement, grain and manure were filled with soil to make ‘Bori Bandhs’. The idea was to stop the flow of water so that water could go deeper into the ground leading to the increase in water table. We should now decide to make ‘Bori Bandhs’ to prevent the flow of water so that the waters of the villages remain in the villages. Can we fulfill this resolution? I will get to know if you speak a little louder. Surely, it does not entail any cost. Together we have to collect old sacks of fertilizers and cement and fill them with soil and put them on the ground. One has to do only this much. Water lasts for two to four weeks and gradually seeps into the soil. If the water table rises gradually, the water problems in our village will also be reduced. We once started a huge campaign to develop one lakh farm ponds in 100 days. The Gujarat government also extended help and, as a result, one lakh farm ponds were prepared. A small pond was made near a small field and a bigger pond was made if there was a big field. If we start creating pits near fields from now onwards it can be one or five pits in a field and those can be turned into ponds. The ponds should be located where there is a slope in the field so that the rain water can be collected there. If there is extensive rain, the water will be of use in the fields and it will also save money. Can you do this, brothers? You can make at least 75 farm ponds in the villages you represent. Respond to me a little louder. All the people of the Panchayats should have this desire to do this. As you know we carried out vaccinations during the Corona period. There was awareness all around in the villages. An unprecedented vaccination campaign was carried out in India compared to the rest of the world. Our Gujarat also carried out rapid vaccinations. All of you know about human vaccinations, but do we know that our animals in villages are suffering from several diseases, including foot and mouth diseases. Their vaccination is also underway. The Indian government has earmarked 13,000 crore rupees for the first time since independence for the free vaccination of these animals. I request you to ensure vaccination of all the animals in villages. It will be a work of humanity, kindness and compassion. Can it be done in our villages? Speak loudly. Sisters, raise your hands. This is something in which the government is spending money, but it will benefit all our villages. If not a single animal in our village suffers from these diseases, then it will give more milk. If that animal is used in the fields, then it will work even more. Every family in our village will get some benefit. And as far as I believe, since this work is being carried out by the government, all of us should get involved in it. You must be aware that LED bulbs are being provided by the government. When I became the Prime Minister, the market price of LED bulbs was Rs 400-500. We have worked hard and increased its production. As a result, it is available for around Rs 40-50 per bulb. If we use LED bulbs in every house and replace the street lights with these bulbs on every Panchayat road, the cost of electricity will come down significantly. If we use less electricity, you can save 200 rupees. But if you use more then you can save 2,000 rupees. It is a very small task. LED bulbs are available in markets. If the poor people in villages can save 200-500-1,000 rupees, they will be able to ensure milk for their children. Can’t we do this? LED bulbs are a small thing to save electricity. Panchayats should ensure that all the street lights are replaced with LED bulbs and their electricity bills will also come down considerably. Every village has some people who had once been government employees, pensioners, retired people, teachers, or those who worked in the police or in the armed forces. There are at least five to 15 such people in any village. All of them can gather once a month and discuss some issues. For example, those who have served in government can be asked how they can help in getting some government facilities to their villages. It will strengthen the village and that village will become conscious. As I said earlier to celebrate the foundation day of schools, similarly, we can celebrate the birth anniversary of villages. You would recall earlier people in the villages used to decorate their villages with entrance arches. The 50 or 100 households used to recognize that village by doing that. That tradition is still there in our villages. These arches are replaced every year. This process of arches is in fact the anniversary of a village. Therefore, we can celebrate the birth anniversary of villages at a grand scale. Those living outside the villages should be called on that day. If they come, they will donate at least 2-5 rupees. It will be useful for the welfare of the village. There are many such small things which we can do. It can be either our Anganwadi or school. The members of the Panchayats can be assigned the task of visiting the school for at least 15 minutes. Everybody can decide the day to visit the school. You should go to the school and find out whether the teachers or the students have come or not. Are the teachers really teaching? Whether the school is clean or not? Whether there is a facility of drinking water or not? Are toilets clean or not? If our elected representatives of villages can perform such smaller tasks, it will strengthen our villages. Now that you are aware that optical fiber has been laid in villages. The world of the cities can also be there in your rooms. Such is the power of this optical fiber. How can people in our villages take maximum advantage of this optical fiber, tele-medicine or tele-education? The elected brothers of Panchayats should ponder over it. All the arrangements are being made. How can we provide maximum benefits to our children in villages, improve their education and meet their needs? We can ensure this. As you must be aware, we have set up a Common Service Center between three or four villages. I have seen that villagers have realized that this Common Service Center is a good medium to reach the government. Without going anywhere, one can reach the government. It is such an excellent system. If a villager wants to book a train reservation, he does not need to go to Ahmedabad, Mehsana or Rajkot. He can book the train ticket through the Common Service Centre from his village. It not only saves money, but time also. How can we create awareness among the people of villages? The more effort we put in to take forward our villages, we will get the best results. Therefore, I emphasize that the Sarpanch and people of Gram Panchayat should resolve that not a single student will drop out of school during their five-year tenure. There should not be a single child who is not enrolled in school. There should not be a single child who has not gone to Anganwadi. You will also feel pleased that you are changing the life of your village by contributing your one hour every day. Just because you become head of a Panchayat after the elections and you attend meetings. It’s not like that. Several years ago, I was working in Haryana. Once there was a meeting with the people who were members of our party. Generally, people stand up and introduce themselves. One would tell his name and then would say I am SP. Then another brother would do the same thing and say I am SP. I was surprised because they did not look like literates and still they had become SP. I was new and it was a surprise for me in Haryana. I was told that SP means ‘Sarpanch Pati’ (husband of a Sarpanch). In short, their wives were Sarpanch and the so-called SPs were handling everything. We don’t have to allow this to happen in Gujarat. The sisters who have been elected by the people should handle the work of the Panchayat and not the SPs. I think my sisters have liked this. Our sisters have this innate strength and they produce wonderful results if we trust them. You have seen how our daughters have made India proud in the Olympics. Look at the results of the 10th and 12th standards. Our daughters are making a name for themselves. Today more than 50 percent of the Sarpanch in our villages are our sisters. Therefore, the villages should think about our children, our daughters. The more we ensure government schemes for the marginalized sections, the better it will be. The expenditure burden comes later. The love for one’s village means that this should be done in my village and I have to do it — when such affection is awakened in society for the village then you will see that the village will reach new heights of progress. The village will establish its identity with a new force. I remember once Lal Bahadur Shastri ji organized a program to stay in a village at night which fulfilled so many conditions. We have Ajarpura near Anand. Lal Bahadur Shastri ji came to Ajarpura and stayed there for the night. If there are people from Ajarpura here, they would know about it. Villages have their own strength. The more we give importance to that power, the more prosperous our villages will be. And now there are so many arrangements in the villages which the people of the cities are not aware of. They think that people from the villages will have to come to cities for any work. Now you can do any work on the computer from your village. A new era has begun. The benefits of this new era should be availed by our elected mothers and sisters, brothers and all our Panchayat representatives. I have full faith that this power of democracy in the villages of Gujarat will blossom with full force. Democracy has power. And I am fortunate that yesterday there was a festival of democracy when our government was formed again in four states. Look at the power of democracy. In the states which never returned the same government, people of those states elected the same government. People’s awareness about democracy has increased. People have started believing that the work of democratically elected people is to work for development. And we are getting the benefit of it. Therefore, I want that there should be all-round development. Development is needed so that the poorest of the poor also get the benefits. And the Panchayati Raj system plays an important role in it. Gujarat has a unique insight as well as unique strength. Let us take advantage of this unique power of our Panchayat Raj System. The Panchayat Raj Day will be celebrated in April and there will be a big event across the country to mark the occasion. It will be observed in the third week of April. But Gujarat has done a remarkable job by celebrating this Panchayat festival before Holi and one month before the Panchayat Raj Day. I congratulate the Gujarat government. I congratulate the Chief Minister. I also want to thank you very much for coming in such large numbers and reposing so much faith in the Panchayat Raj and democracy. I wish you all the best. Thanks a lot. Bharat Mata ki Jai! Bharat Mata ki Jai! Bharat Mata ki Jai! Thanks!