Country was operated by 'quacks', will take Modi some time to change things, says SP Singh Baghel

New Delhi: India would have been a developed nation today if Narendra Modi or someone like him had become the prime minister after the country's independence, Minister of State for Panchayati Raj SP Singh Baghel said on Monday.

Speaking at a workshop on the People’s Plan Campaign, also known as ‘Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas’ Abhiyan, Baghel said the government's assistance took years to reach villages in the past and recalled that in his own village, the first government assistance "reached in 1974 in the form of a cement pipe and in 1980 when the government provided a hand pump".

"The situation today is different but how long did it take (for development to reach villages)... If you bring a patient to AIIMS after a quack operates on them, how long would it take the real doctor to treat the patient?

"This country has also been operated upon by quacks, so it will take some time for (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi ji to change things. Ten years is not enough," he said.

"I wish Narendra Modi ji, or someone like him, would have become the Prime Minister of India 60 years ago, or 70-75 years ago when India became independent... 'Antyodaya' would have happened by now, and we would not have to give the slogan for making India developed by 2047, it would have already been developed," Baghel said.

Talking about the People’s Plan Campaign, he said Panchayat representatives should focus on fulfilling their election promises and not work only for those belonging to their castes or their supporters.

"What should people's plan campaign look like? If you fulfil the promises made when you fought the panchayat election, it would be a real people's development plan," he said.

The MoS Panchayati Raj said the representatives, while contesting elections, talk about 'sabka sath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas ', but after winning, they focus only on their supporters.

The minister said he was often shocked by the proposals that come, and it is often seen that the work is done for people of the same caste or 'gotra' as their voters largely come from the same caste groups.

"The plans made in Lutyens' zone fall apart on the ground," he said.

The minister called the Jal Jeevan Mission the most important plan of the government and stressed that it should not just use groundwater for supply.

Baghel said while it is yet to be seen if the third world war is for water, "wars are already happening in 'mohallas' (colonies) over water".

"If the Jal Jeevan Mission relies only on groundwater, it will become a White Elephant," Baghel said.

He also stressed that before going for Smart Cities, India should focus on making 'Smart Villages'.

A workshop was held on Monday to prepare for the launch of the People's Plan Campaign–2024 (Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas) on October 2, to mark the beginning of the annual exercise for the preparation of Development Plans in Panchayats at all three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

A Booklet on the People’s Plan Campaign (2024–25) for the Preparation of Panchayat Development Plans for the Financial Year (2025–26) and Annual Action Plan 2024–25 Report of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) was released and the Hindi version of the website of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj will also be launched.