Promising strengthening of democracy and balanced development in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said his government is dedicated to the vision of 'New Bharat' to ensure security of the country and to improve living standards.

Efforts were on to ensure safety of those facing the brunt of shelling from across the border, the prime minister said addressing a public rally.

Starting his 36-minute speech in Dogri amid chants of "Modi Modi", he said, "For the central government, the national interest and the interest of the people are supreme."

"The vision of New Bharat is to ensure security of the country and uplift the living standards of the countrymen. The Centre is fully dedicated towards this goal and with your cooperation, the New Bharat will be fully capable and secure as well," Modi said.

Referring to the upcoming the Lok Sabha elections, he said, "The 2019 fight is to take forward the country on the path of development and let us join hands in this direction.

He attacked the Congress for allegedly hoodwinking soldiers and said his government concentrated on "Jai Kisan and Jai Jawan" in the Budget.

"Along with farmers, we made a big decision of focusing on defence in the budget. I want to congratulate thousands of soldiers' families that the defence budget for the first time crossed over Rs three lakh crore. It will help improve the defence of the country and will also benefit the jawans," he said.

"I want to assure the people facing shelling from across the border that every effort will be made for their security. On the one hand, the enemy is being given a befitting response and on the other, 14,000 bunkers are being constructed to ensure safety of the people," he said.

Modi also targeted the previous PDP-led government, saying several things could not happen in the state in spite of the BJP being a coalition partner.

"We were giving priority to panchayat elections but that could not happen at that time. The way the people participated in the panchayat elections and recorded 70 percent turnout with no violence is a significant development," he said.

"Terrorism is also being dealt with sternly. The work on incomplete projects was speeded up," he said, promising strengthening of democracy and balanced development in the state.

First Published:Feb 3, 2019 9:45 PM IST