New Delhi: Taking a dig at Narendra Modi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Sunday said then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had reminded the Gujarat Chief Minister about 'Raj Dharma' in the wake of the 2002 riots in the state.
Reacting to comments by Modi in his speech at BJP's National Council meeting here, he also said it was under the Prime Ministership of Indira Gandhi that the country had conducted its first nuclear test in 1974.
"AMNESIA Is it not true that Vajpayee ji reminded a certain CM about Raj Dharma in 02? What did Vajpayee attribute their 2004 defeat to?," Tewari said on social networking site Twitter.
Following the defeat of NDA in 2004 polls, Vajpayee had blamed that violence in Gujarat as one of the reasons that led to the electoral loss.
"FACTS- Indira Gandhi carried out PNE (peaceful nuclear explosion) in 74, successive Cong govts nurtured strategic programme and Manmohan Singh dismantled nuclear aparthied," Tewari said.
Maintaining that Vajpayee had shown what a single leader could do, Modi had said while addressing the BJP conclave today that it was under Vajpayee's leadership that India had conducted nuclear tests on May 11 and May 13, 1998 despite international pressure and stood up to the sanctions imposed against it thereafter.
"As 14 families at our village don't have BPL cards, they
were not provided with the fund. So, we pooled the fund of the 31 families and donated to ensure that all the 45 families get a toilet from the fund meant for 31 families," said Pujari.
The villagers are now motivating people in nearby villages, like Jhimitiguda, Pipalguda and Dalaiguda to use toilets too.
The village also claim of achieving another social reform by restricting consumption of liquor to only Fridays and special occasions like pujas and marriages.
"The villagers are allowed to consume liquor only on Friday as the weekly market sits on that day. Moreover, villagers are not allowed to create nuisance after consuming liquor. If anyone is found consuming liquor on any other day and creating disturbance at the village, a fine of Rs 50 is imposed on him," said Sanjeev Sekhar Pujari, a villager.
"We have also restricted the use of cigarettes, bidis and chewing tobacco at the village," he added.
The villagers have started another practice of collecting Rs 5 each month towards creating a common fund pool to be used in times of emergency like taking a patient to the hospital and purchasing medicines.
"A meeting is held once a month, attended by at least one member from each family. All community decisions are taken at the meeting," said a villager.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, March 03, 2013, 15:07