Our aim is social justice, asserts Prime Minister
New Delhi, March 10 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said hardcore politics of agitation were not as relevant as in the past and called for transformation of 115 "aspirational districts" to achieve social justice and improve the country's ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI).
Inaugurating the National Legislators Conference in the Central Hall of Parliament here, Modi also pitched for posting young and motivated IAS officers in these 115 districts for quicker results.
The Prime Minister said he was against classifying the 115 districts, which lag in specific development parameters, as backward.
"Strategically, there has been a need to fine-tune our development model," he said.
The Prime Minister said the traditional concept of social justice has been in the context of the condition of society but there is another aspect of it.
"If one village has electricity but the neighbouring one does not, is it not social justice that it should too have electricity. The principle of social justice inspires us for this," Modi said.
He said development in 115 aspirational district was social justice.
"If all children in our area get education, it is a step towards social justice. If all houses have electricity, it is a step towards social justice. It is a concept of social justice in a new form in accordance with the vision of the great men who sat in this chamber," Modi said.
He said the elected representatives can choose one area of work and things will start to change.
"There is no need of new budget. The present resources, manpower... if they work in mission mode, then it can lead to results. Work with dedication for one year and it will change the picture of the state and the country," he said.
Modi said India was ranked about 130 in HDI.
"If there is improvement in these 115 districts, it will automatically lead to improvement in the country's rankings," he said.
He said an atmosphere of competitive cooperative federalism has been created in the country and states lagging behind in rankings are facing a push from their residents.
He said when the government identified 115 aspirational districts based on comprehensive study and 48 parameters, it found that a district that was doing badly in 5-10 aspects was doing badly in most others.
He said that within a state one district surges ahead of the other despite having similar resource allocation.
"Resources is not a problem, good governance is a problem, coordination is a problem, focused activity is a problem. If we focus on these, we can bring a big change."
The two-day conference on the theme "We for Development" is seeing participation of legislators from across the country as also Speakers of several assemblies.
Several union ministers and leaders from opposition parties attended the inaugural function.
