Fact Check: Did Union Minister Gadkari Criticise PM Modi’s Policies On Rural India?

New Delhi: A clip shared on social media by Congress party shows Union minister Nitin Gadkari saying that villages and tribal areas under Narendra Modi’s government are in distress as they lack basic amenities.

“Today the villages, poor, labourers and farmers are unhappy. Villages don’t have good roads, there is no pure water to drink, there are no good hospitals, and there are no good schools,” Gadkari says in the 19-second video.

Did Gadkari, one of the most respected and efficient ministers in Modi’s Cabinet, criticise the PM’s policies?

As it turns out, the clip shared by the Congress is a tiny part of an 1-hour, 42-minute interview of the Minister of Road Transport & Highways.

When journalist Saurabh Dwivedi questions Gadkari about farmers, the minister responds in detail.

“The population dependent on agriculture is 65%. When Gandhiji was there, 90% of the population lived in rural areas. Eventually, 30% of the people migrated of villages. Why did that happen? This happened because the village is poor; labourers and farmers are unhappy. The reason for this is that water, forest, land and animals… This is a rural economy. There are no good roads, no water to drink, no good hospital, no good school, and no good price for the farmer’s crop. It is not that there is no development here. But the development that has taken place elsewhere has not taken place here. We have been doing a lot of work on this after our government came to power. Over 550 aspiring blocks and 120 aspiring districts we have identified where changes are happening,” is what Gadkari had actually said.

The Union minister indicated that migration from villages occurred due to insufficient resources, emphasising that the government was actively addressing this issue. He did not suggest that this situation reflects the condition of the country under the Modi government.

Congress is facing flak in social media flak for spreading misinformation.