New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in ‘Grih Pravesham’ (House Warming) of about 5.21 Lakh beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday via video conferencing.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister congratulated the beneficiaries for their ‘Grih Pravesham’ in the upcoming new year of 'Vikram Samvat'. The Prime Minister said that earlier, political parties did not do enough for the poor despite their professed stance. 

“Once the poor are empowered, they have the courage to fight poverty. When efforts of an honest government and efforts of empowered poor come together, poverty is defeated”, he said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that “these 5.25 lakh houses built in villages under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are not just statistics These 5.25 lakh houses are the identity of the poor getting strong in the country.” 

PM Modi further said that this campaign of providing pucca houses to the poor is not just a government scheme but a commitment to instil confidence in the rural poor. 

“This is the first step of bringing the poor out of poverty”, he said. “These houses reflect the service spirit and a campaign to make women of the villages ‘lakhpati’.”, he added.
 
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union and state ministers, Members of Parliament and state legislators were among those present on the occasion.