Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said previous governments came up with their welfare schemes sitting in air-conditioned rooms without seeing their impact on the ground.

“Previous governments made their schemes sitting in air-conditioned rooms, never saw ground realities, but now the BJP government has started a dialogue with the beneficiaries,” Modi said while addressing a public rally in Varanasi.

“And its effect is that both the benefit and the feedback of the schemes are direct,” the PM further said, adding, “Ensuring self-respect for the poor is a Modi guarantee.”

In Varanasi, the PM inaugurated or laid the foundation stone for 29 development projects worth Rs 12,100 crores.