I listened with great attention to the interview of Fr Bolmax Periera on a local YouTube channel Goa Newshub.
I am a strong believer in our constitutional right to express our opinions without fear and that is why when Fr Bolmax states, “We have to defeat BJP”. I respect it even though I do not agree with his opinion. That is his view and I am certain, a man of his intellect and reasoning would have arrived at such a decision after much thought.
However, I am yet uncertain of the reasons for Fr Bolmax to arrive at such an opinion. It must be strong enough to make it a mission statement because he did not elaborate on it in his interview.
As an Indian Christian supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, I face immense criticism from my Christian community. It does not bother me because my decision is based on logical reasoning and understanding of the body of work done under the leadership of Modi. And that is something I want to ask Fr Bolmax in all humility, whether his reasons for ‘We have to defeat BJP’ are based on an assessment and analysis of the body of work done by Modi or some other criterion of reasoning that I may not be aware of. I believe that Fr Bolmax is not a religious bigot and his reasoning would have measurable parameters devoid of rhetoric. However, let me put forth my reasoning and ask the question: Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
The points put down are a few out of our (Amit Bagaria and I) extensive research on the transformational policies of PM Modi over the last ten years over the last few months. The magnitude of our work will be published post the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. It will be our second collaboration after our Amazon Bestseller ‘Modi Stole My Mask’.
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Niti Aayog, under the UPA governance, multidimensional poverty was 29.17% of the population but under the Modi government, it has come down to 11.28% of the population. This means India lifted a staggering 24.82 crore people out of multidimensional poverty in just nine years. Another simple data point, under UPA, 3.2 crore tap water connections were installed in rural India, under the Modi government 13.8 crore tap water connections were installed till Dec 31, 2023. Why do you want to defeat the BJP Fr Bolmax?
Under the Modi government as of 31 January 2024, there were 51.66Cr Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts (55% women) with a balance of ₹2.1714LCr, at an average balance of ₹4203. More than 78% of these accounts and almost 77.78% of the balance is in PSBs. More than 68% of them had RuPay Debit Cards. The budget for women-specific schemes has gone up from ₹93,000Cr in FY18 to ₹3.1LCr in FY25, an annualized increase of 18.77%. More than ₹13.6LCr has been spent on women’s schemes in Modi’s 10 years. That equals an incredible ₹20,792 per woman per year. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
An incredible sum of ₹16.93LCr has been invested in the power sector in 93⁄4 years and a further investment of ₹17.05LCr is in the pipeline. Around 2.86Cr homes in 18,374 villages had no electricity connections in April 2015. Within four years, this was reduced to zero by the Modi Govt under the SAUBHAGYA scheme, the largest and fastest expansion of access to electricity in the world. The power generation capacity of about 249GW as of March 2014 was enhanced to 429.96GW as of 31 January 2024, an increase of over 72.7% in 9 years and 10 months. Power generation has gone up 59.2%, from 1,020 BUs in 2014 to 1,624 BUs in 2023. Why do you want to defeat BJP, Fr Bolmax?
Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana 1.0 and 2.0 (the Ujjwala Scheme), 100% free LPG (gas cylinder) connections were provided to more than 12.54Cr rural households as of 31 January 2024. There is a rise in the female labor force participation rate from 23.3% in FY18 to 37% in FY23., an increase of 58.8% in five years. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
Direct Benefit Tranfers-linked schemes were increased 11.21 times, from 28 in May 2014 to 314 in January 2024. Till January 2024 cumulative DBT is over ₹34.33LCr. The number of DBT beneficiaries went up 8.676 times from 10.8Cr in FY14 to 93.7Cr in FY23. India has saved an estimated ₹3.6LCr by March 2024 due to DBT. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
Over 32.14Cr PM Mudra Yojana loans have been disbursed to women entrepreneurs, which comprises over 68.6% of all Mudra loans disbursed in 9 years. The amount of ₹12.157LCr disbursed is over 46.6% of the total disbursed to all borrowers. Nearly 1Cr women have been assisted by 83L SHGs to become lakhpati didis. The initial target of 2Cr didis has been increased to 3Cr. Under PM JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan), ₹24,000Cr has been allocated. 2,02,626 doctors/specialists have been onboarded, 14,819 Hubs established, and 1,15,177 Spokes operationalized. As of 28 February 2024, over 21.3Cr consultations have been done and the scheme is getting more and more popular by the day. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
Free eSanjeevani National Telemedicine Service launched in November 2019 facilitates quick and easy access to allopathic and Ayush doctors and specialists from smartphones, or by visiting an Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (HWC). As of 29 February 2024, Ayushman Cards have been created for 32.007Cr persons (58.3% of the total target) and eKYC has been done for almost 31.96Cr individuals. More than 6.27Cr authorized hospital admissions have been done and ₹78,767Cr has been spent (in other words, saved by citizens), at an average of ₹12,600 per treatment. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
Up to 31 January 2024, more than 11.715Cr individual household latrines (IHHLs) were been built across the length and breadth of India at an average of 34,375 per day. Over 2.24L community sanitary complexes were been constructed. More than 5.11L villages (86% of the target) were Open Defecation-Free as of 3rd February 2024. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
Under the Housing for All initiative of the Modi government, construction started in June 2015, and as of 29 January 2024, 80.02L homes (67.45%) homes have been constructed. A further 26L homes (21.91%) are under construction. Under the renamed PM Awaas Yojana–Gramin (PMAY-G), as of 29 February 2024 the Modi Govt had built 2.568Cr houses, at an average of 2.195L/month, an increase of 25.14%. Another 38.715L were under construction. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana was launched by Modi in April 2015 to provide loans up to ₹10L to non-corporate, non-farm, MSEs, and individuals. The MUDRA loans are given by banks, MFIs, and NBFCs. Almost 46.84Cr loans have been disbursed in 105 months up to January 2024 at an average of 44.61L loans per month. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
A new sub-scheme called Pradhan MantriMatsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY) for individuals and MSEs in the fisheries sector was granted ₹6000Cr for four years up to FY27, to support 6.4L MSEs and 5,500 fisheries cooperatives. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
About 83.5% of all Indians above age 15 now have functioning bank accounts. As of 3rd February 2024, 79.43L loans of a total amount of ₹10,529Cr was disbursed to 60.2L beneficiaries. About 43% of beneficiaries are women, and 79% are from SC/ST/OBC and minority categories. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
Benefits worth around ₹30,000 per year to each small farmer through schemes like PM-KISAN, primary agricultural credit society, Farmer Producer Organisations, setting up of storage centers, and the impetus to the food processing industry. Around 17.8Cr Kisan families have benefitted in the last 10 years. PM-KISAN, or the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana launched in December 2018 gives direct income support of ₹6,000 per year to up to 11.8Cr eligible farmers. Almost ₹2.95LCr has been spent by the Government on this scheme in the last five years. 7.48Cr Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) have been distributed and loans worth over ₹9LCr have been given to farmers. Agri credit has been raised to ₹20LCr with a focus on dairies. Under PM Fasal Bima Yojana, crop insurance has been provided to 4Cr farmers. Under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, ₹68,663Cr has been spent on rural irrigation in eight years. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
Free food grains to 81.35Cr poor persons at a cost of ₹11.8LCr under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for five years from 1st January 2024, giving a benefit of ₹242 per person per month. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
The National Social Assistance Programme affordable pension scheme has 469.66L beneficiaries. The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Man Dhan Yojana (PM-SYM) started to give a pension of ₹3000 per month to unorganized sector workers after the age of 60. This is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme on a 50:50 basis where the prescribed age-specific contribution is made by the beneficiary and the GOI makes a matching contribution. More than 49.83L workers are enrolled as of 10 February 2024. The GOI’s contribution to PM- SYM was ₹1004Cr in FY20, FY21, and FY22. The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a social security scheme launched in 2015 to provide a guaranteed pension of up to ₹5000 after the age of 60 years. It has over 6.2Cr beneficiaries. Known as Swavalamban Yojana in the UPA era, the scheme had just ~36.4L beneficiaries. The Modi Govt has grown the beneficiaries by a whopping 17 times in under 10 years. The PM-JANMAN scheme with a total outlay of ₹24,000Cr ensures the socio-economic welfare of tribal communities. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
From inception on 4th June 2018 till 30th November 2023, over 47.87Cr Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-biodegradable Sanitary Pads have been sold at over 10,000 Janaushadhi Kendras nationwide. Initially launched at ₹2.50 per piece, prices were reduced to ₹1 per piece with effect from 27 August 2019. Market prices for similar (branded) pads range from ₹3.57 to ₹350 per piece. Why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax?
Modi has never distinguished in the initiatives between Hindus, Christians, Muslims, or Sikhs. The transformational policies of PM Modi have touched the lives of millions of people across different strata of societies alike women, youth, farmers, and the poor. ‘We have to defeat BJP’ but why do you want to defeat BJP Fr Bolmax? I am sure Fr Bolmax has his reasons but it is important in our religious or political discourse that we compare apples to apples and not apples with cabbage.
I am trying to understand whether Fr Bolmax thinks that Modi is wrong because he did so much for the nation through governmental policies much more than the UPA government. Modi has been initiating transformational policies for the last ten years, and some of the Catholic Church leaders across India have also looked at these policies positively, especially in the national capital New Delhi and Kerala. Even Pope Francis was gracious to meet with PM Modi at the Vatican and he has also planned to visit India, I am hopeful this year, after the Lok Sabha Elections and if the health of the Holy Pontiff permits.
I believe Fr Bolmax is a man of reason and so am I. Most reasoning is arrived at by analyzing data points, not mere hearsay. Modi is not perfect and neither is BJP as a political party and as a ruling party at the helm of the governance of the world’s largest democracy. They have made their share of errors. But unless the reasons for ‘We have to defeat BJP’ outdo ‘We have to vote for Modi’, as an Indian Christian, I will continue to support Narendra Modi for the role of Prime Minister of India and urge others to do so too.
