Kolkata, Mar 6 (IANS): Attacking INDIA bloc partners for launching 'personal attacks' against him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday explained why crores of citizens are his family members.

While addressing a rally on women empowerment organised by West Bengal BJP at Barasat in North 24 Parganas district, the PM narrated his life story. He said, “At a very young age, I left my home with a bag to move around the entire country and know my nation. I was not carrying a single penny. But not for a single day, I was in empty stomach. That is where I realised that the people of the entire nation are members of my family.”

So, he added, since the time the current NDA government came to power in 2015, it started working relentlessly for women empowerment. “I have set a target so that 30 crore women become lakhpati didis in the country. When so many lakhpati didis will surface in rural India what kind of prosperity the rural economy of the country will achieve,” said the Prime Minister.

The PM also accused the INDIA bloc partners of launching personal attacks against him by linking his family issue.

“They are claiming that since I do not have a family of my own, I am so much against ancestry-driven politics in the country. But they do not know that crores of people of my country are my family members. The women of the entire country are my family members. I am confident that whenever I will come under such scathing attacks, the women of the country will come forward to protect me,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Modi said that the state governments run by INDIA bloc partners are creating hurdles for implementing different central projects for women empowerment in the respective states. “The INDIA bloc partners are only interested in appeasement of fundamentalist forces. So the women of the country will have to come forward to resist such evil intentions of the INDIA block partners,” he added.