Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted virtually with beneficiaries of various Central schemes and released Rs 21,000 crore as the 11th instalment of the Kisan Samman Nidhi after arriving here for a rally to mark the eighth anniversary of his government.
Following his arrival at the Mall Road in the Himachal Pradesh capital, Modi, accompanied by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, walked to the venue of the rally in Ridge Maidan around 11.30 pm.
There, the prime minister interacted with the beneficiaries of the Central schemes from across the country.
During one such interaction, Modi told Santoshi, a woman from Karnatka's Kalaburagi, that he was impressed by the way she expressed her views and had she been a BJP worker he would have asked her to contest polls.
An ex-serviceman from Ladakh told the prime minister that he has benefitted from the Jal Jeevan Mission and PM Aawas Yojana and faced no hiccup in availing the benefits of the scheme.
Lalita Devi from Bihar's Banka informed Modi that she has got a 'pucca' house and a toilet under the PM Awas Yojana Rural. Pankaj Sahani from Tripura said that he had got a ration card under the 'One Nation, One card' scheme.
Sama Devi from Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur told the prime minister that she got Rs 1 lakh for building a 'pucca' house under the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) and that she got Rs. 6,000 in three instalments in a year under the Kisan Samman Nidhi.
On this occasion, the prime minister also released Rs 21,000 crore to 80 crore farmers as the eleventh instalment of the Kisan Samman Nidhi.
Modi last visited Himachal Pradesh on December 27 to address a rally at the Paddal ground in Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur's home district Mandi to mark the fourth anniversary of the BJP government in the state.
The Assembly election in Himachal Pradesh is scheduled to be held later this year.