Sonowal Credits PM SVANidhi for Empowering Street Vendors, Slams Congress for Past Failures

Dibrugarh, September 1: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s PM SVANidhi scheme with transforming the lives of small traders and street vendors, while accusing the Congress of decades of neglect and corruption.

Speaking at a public programme on the Prime Minister’s Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme in Dibrugarh, Assam, Sonowal said, “The primary goal of PM SVANidhi is self-reliance. It enables individuals to support their families with dignity. Prime Minister Modi envisioned this strength and created the scheme to empower the poor and marginalised financially.”

Recalling the economic hardships faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the minister explained that the scheme offered loans in three phases — ₹10,000, ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 — with a 7% interest subsidy for timely repayment. “The design of this repayment mechanism has helped many small traders succeed,” he noted, after interacting with several beneficiaries of the programme.

Taking aim at the opposition, Sonowal said Congress governments had failed to deliver welfare effectively. “Rajiv Gandhi himself admitted that out of every one rupee sent by the government, 84 paise was siphoned off by middlemen. But Prime Minister Modi has ensured that every rupee reaches the poor,” he said, stressing that Modi’s policies were guided by “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas.”

Later in the day, the Dibrugarh MP inaugurated a Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendra at Milan Nagar, aimed at providing affordable generic medicines to the public.

The events were attended by Assam Cabinet Minister Prasanta Phukan, MLAs Chakradhar Gogoi, Terash Gowala and Binod Hazarika, along with senior officials, local representatives, and beneficiaries of the scheme.