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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, four days ahead of the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, reached out to tribals, announcing his visit to the native village of tribal icon Birsa Munda on his birth anniversary. While campaigning for the BJP, Modi criticized the Congress, accusing them of neglecting adivasis for six decades. He assured the people of Madhya Pradesh that all promises made by the ruling party would be fulfilled if it retained power, cautioning them against the Congress’s electoral promises, likening them to building a “castle of gold.”
Addressing a rally in Barwani district, which has a significant tribal population, Modi celebrated the upcoming birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda on November 15, referred to as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’ (Tribal Pride Day). He highlighted the role of tribes in the freedom struggle and contrasted the BJP’s commitment to tribal welfare with the Congress’s alleged neglect.
Modi announced his visit to Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s village in Jharkhand on November 15, where he would launch a ₹24,000 crore scheme for the holistic development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG). This initiative, named the PVTG Development Mission, aims to empower tribals and is described as a first-of-its-kind effort.
Accusing the Congress of ignoring tribal development during its rule, Modi emphasized the BJP-led NDA government’s establishment of a separate ministry for tribal welfare under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He claimed that tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh benefited from the “double-engine” government, with the BJP in power both at the state and central levels.
Modi cautioned voters not to be swayed by the “false” promises of the Congress, alleging that wherever the Congress came to power, crime rates increased, riots became common, and atrocities against women escalated. He urged the people of Madhya Pradesh to remain vigilant, asserting that states governed by the Congress improved after the party was removed from power.
The Prime Minister’s visit and the announcement of the PVTG Development Mission are seen as strategic moves to appeal to the tribal population, a significant electoral demographic in Madhya Pradesh, where 47 out of the total 230 assembly seats are reserved for candidates from scheduled tribes.
