No other party working on upliftment of tribals except BJP, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

FM Nirmala Sitharaman said that no other party has worked to uplift tribals in the country except the BJP but still, the opposition calls the BJP a party of the upper caste. In an exclusive interview with Managing Director of Network18 Rahul Joshi, the FM said  “They have called BJP (Brahim-Baniya Party) and Hindi party. I can challenge no other party except the BJP has worked on the upliftment of tribals, SCs, STs.” Sitharaman speaking to CNN-News18 on international rating agencies said, “I would think they do their job, but periodically it’s our business also to bring it to their notice that the economy, particularly emerging market economy like India despite the odds we are doing a lot of systemic reforms which are bearing the results now.” Sitharaman on Thursday presented her sixth consecutive budget. In less than an hour-long budget speech, she presented the Modi government’s achievements in the last 10 years that transformed India from being a ‘fragile’ economy to the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman termed the Interim Budget 2024-25 “secularism” in action. “People on the ground are talking about programmes, this is secularism in action, ” she said. According to her, the power of word of mouth is “very strong”. “When a beneficiary on the ground truly gets a benefit, they believe what the government says,” said the Finance Minister. “This government is serving the common people in letter and spirit and that is recognised by the people themselves.” She also said Budget 2024 did not announce any sops as the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi treated it like a true vote on account. She further said the Budget 2024 on Thursday (1 February) was presented with clear understanding that several programmes which were launch with empowerment of citizens in mind over the last 10 years are reaching the ground and the beneficiaries are already on their own speaking about it. “I have used an expression and I mean it when I have said it that ‘this is secularism in action.’ This is where we have not shown any difference between members belonging to different communities, religions. The (beneficial) project reaches the ground for everybody who deserves to get it and if they are eligible they get it, irrespective of who they are,” the Finance Minister said in an interview to Network18. “Therefore, in every way, the principle of empowerment, the Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas has been executed in every way and that is the sense of the confidence that the blessings of people are not just at the time when we gave promises but blessings are, even now, coming in abundantly that yes you have kept your words,” Sitharaman said.