Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for strengthening democracy at the grassroots level saying gram sabhas are as important as Parliament. He asked the gram panchayats to play active role in developmental activities, taking advantage of the immense resources and schemes of his government. <br/><br/>The Prime Minister was addressing a programme on the culmination of 10-day 'Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday' campaign at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand today. Mr Modi said, the country's progress depends hugely on the development of villages. He emphasised the need for bridging the gulf between cities and rural areas by ensuring that all modern day facilities reach even the far off places.<br/><br/>Laying thrust on progress of rural areas, with particular focus on farmers, women-folk and child care, the Prime Minister said, we need need to strengthen panchayats. He stressed the need for gram panchayats and the central government to work shoulder-to-shoulder.<br/><br/>He asked the village heads to take a lead in undertaking developmental activities, including infrastructure development, construction of toilets to ensure end to open defecation. He also asked them to ensure proper healthcare to prevent child birth mortality and provision of better education to ensure there is no school dropouts.